Five surprises from the Arizona Cardinals 53-man roster

Every year there are a number of surprises that come from the Arizona Cardinals final 53 roster… well, there first 53 man roster of the season.

For the Cardinals, this season was no different, despite a new coaching staff, the surprises came in at myriad of positions.

Let’s take a look at five surprises from the Arizona Cardinals first 53-man roster of 2018.

Arizona Cardinals WR chart: The top three were all locks to make the roster, but if you asked anyone before camp started if Trent Sherfield and J.J. Nelson would finish as the four and five receivers, no one would buy that. No Brice Butler, no Greg Little, but that doesn’t really matter when you look at Butler’s and Little’s careers. It is just crazy to see that chart as the first 53 man chart.

Arizona Cardinals keep a line full of offensive tackles: The Cardinals offensive line is going to have a ton of offensive tackles on the depth chart. The Cardinals kept five tackles, with John Wetzel as the primary backup, but then keeping Will Holden and Korey Cunningham to backup D.J. Humphries and Andre Smith. Obviously Wetzel and Holden have had time at guard already, but then they kept three guards and two centers. So, keeping five tackles was a bit odd.

Brandon Williams hangs around: After seeming destined for the chopping block, Williams found his way onto the roster again. Williams is a guy who plays quite a bit on special teams, and who didn’t look too bad in his last action against the Broncos playing defense.

Defensive Tackles must be healthy: Depth is not a problem if all four tackles, Corey Peters, Robert Nkemdiche, Olsen Pierre and Rodney Gunter are all healthy. But Peters, Nkemdiche and Pierre have all missed time in training camp and the preseason with ailments. So, keeping four was a bit of a surprise.

Throwing a lot at the linebackers: The Cardinals don’t really know what they have at linebacker, although Deone Bucannon and Josh Bynes looked good in their single preseason half together. So, the Cards are throwing quite a few numbers at the linebacker position to see if they can find the right mix of depth and special teams work. How does it work out?

What surprised you on the Cardinals first 53?