The Arizona Cardinals have several position battles that will be worth paying attention to this offseason. One is at cornerback, where Jerraud Powers and Justin Bethel will battle for the starting job opposite Patrick Peterson.
Powers was a guest on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM recently and he discussed Bethel, his talent and the possibility he could end up the starter.
Powers, who with the exception of 2014 when he played as the team's nickel corner, has started his entire career. But he knows how things work. Bethel could be the guy this year, but Powers knows he has a place on the team.
"I've been in the league a long time, I know how the story goes," said Powers. "I know it's JB's (Bethel's) time to show that he can play corner and not just a special teams guy, I know he's going to have his opportunity as well.
"If he ends up being the starter, I know I'm still going to have a role on this team no matter what the coaches have me do."
Based on offseason comments by head coach Bruce Arians, Powers is certainly in the lead for the starting job. Arians said Powers was one of the team's defensive MVPs. He even went as far to say at one point he played the best of all the corners last season. Arians has also lauded the talent of Bethel but has indicated he "has a long way to go" to surpass Powers.
Bethel wows his teammates at times.
"He does some things sometimes, me and (Patrick Peterson) will just sit there and shake our heads, like only he could do that," he said. "He has that type of athletic talent."
He does not have experience. In three seasons, he has played a total of 117 snaps on defense.
In OTAs, Bethel played in the slot where Powers played very well last season.
Arizona is counting on both players in 2015. Behind them on the depth chart is Alfonzo Dennard and then a bunch of former undrafted rookies.
Whether Bethel starts or comes off the bench, he should play an integral part of the Cardinals defense.