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With training camp set to start in a little more than a week, we can start previewing players and positions. It's great! Real football stuff.
SB Nation's Danny Kelly listed seven young Cardinals that should "soar" this season.
That list includes guard Jonathan Cooper, linebacker Kevin Minter, receiver Michael Floyd, running backs Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor, guard Earl Watford and tackle Bobby Massie.
That is a solid list overall, but not perfect. Floyd already had that season where he had to step into a key role. That was last season.
Watford is a player to watch, but he is not a sure thing. He will have to overtake Paul Fanaika in training camp. Otherwise, he won't have much of an impact at all.
Taylor is another similar case. I like him, but I think his impact will be mitigated a bit and he will have a similar small role to last year. I just think that Jonathan Dwyer will be this year's Rashard Mandenhall and will get most of the carries that Andre Ellington does not.
I like the mentions of Cooper, Minter and Ellington. They are easy picks as they are certain starters. Massie looks to be the guy at right tackle.
But Kelly omitted two key players -- Alex Okafor and Justin Bethel.
After playing only five defensive snaps in 2013 before landing on injured reserve, Okafor has made an impact in offseason work. He won't likely be a starter with John Abraham and Matt Shaughnessy returning, but he should be in the rotation and will have the chance to get to the quarterback.
Bethel has gotten a lot of praise as well and is expected to get some work at cornerback instead of just special teams. Right now he would be at number four on the depth chart, so he could see some work in some dime packages. He has already been to the Pro Bowl. Arians thinks he is talented enough to be even better than Patrick Peterson.
Note that this list does not include rookies. Deone Bucannon would definitely make the list, as would Kareem Martin and Troy Niklas and John Brown.
Are there other second or third year players on the Cardinals set to make their mark this year that we have missed?
