Young Cardinals

Here is a list by position of the Cardinals’ 1st and 2nd year players and how they were acquired:

OFFENSE

WR: 17-Butler, Hakeem 19/4 16-Sherfield, Trent CF18 83-Richardson, AJ CF19 19-Johnson, KeeSean 19/6 13-Kirk, Christian 18/2 89-Isabella, Andy 19/2

LT 79-Cunningham, Korey 18/7

LG 66-Miles, Joshua 19/7

C 52-Cole, Mason 18/3 65-Gaillard, Lamont 19/6 61-Shelton, Coleman SF18

RG 70-Gossett, Colby P/Min

RT 75-Sweet, William CF19 60-Cole, Tariq CF19

TE 84-Wilson, Caleb 19/7 82-Belcher, Drew CF19

QB 1-Murray, Kyler 19/1 6-Kanoff, Chad CF18 3-Anderson, Drew CF19

RB 29-Edmonds, Chase 49-Hills, Wes CF19 34-Strickland, Dontae CF19 44-Turner, Xavier CF19

DEFENSE

DT 91-Dogbe, Michael 19/7 72-Brown, Miles CF19

DE 97-Allen, Zach 19/3 71-Turner, Immanuel CF19

RUSH 94-Malveaux, Cameron P/Mia 57-Taumoepenu, Pita W/SF

LB 92-Gardeck, Dennis CF18 47-Turner, Ezekiel CF18F 51-Booker, Dante CF19 45-Robertson, Pete SF18

CB 33-Murphy, Byron 19/2 25-Jones, Chris SF18 28-Nichols, Deatrick CF18 41-Brooks, Nate CF19

S 35-Thompson, Deionte 19/5 38-Thompson, Jalen 19/5* 42-Owens, Jonathan CF18 39-Sigler, Tyler CF19

Positions Given Recent Priority in the Draft: QB, WR, DE, CB, S

Depth Addressed in Later Rounds and with UCFAs with the hope of finding gems:

QB—-Could Chad Kanoff or Drew Anderson emerge as a QB2 in 2020?

TE—-Is Caleb Wilson a keeper?

LB—-Are Dennis Gardeck and/or Zeke Turner keepers?

CB—-Are Chris Jones and/or Deatrich Nichols keepers or will the Cardinals search the waiver wire?

Depth Most in Question: OL, DT, OLB/Rush, ILB, CB

Commentary:

With regard to projecting success and growth over the next three years, ESPN ranked the Cardinals as the #30 team in the NFL.

Right now, it is difficult for any pundit to predict what kind of success the Cardinals can have this year, next year and beyond. After the Cardinals pulled their unprecedented reset after the abysmal 2018 season, it would be hard to imagine any pundit sticking his neck out at this point in favor of what the Cardinals are doing.

But—-I can tell you this—-there are a number of pundits who have a sneaking suspicion that the Cardinals are now on a fast track (literally and figuratively) for getting back into contention.

Why?

Because they recognize the young talent on the roster.

Practically half of the Cardinals current roster is comprised of 1st and 2nd year players.

By my count, I believe very strongly that 20+ have a great chance to make the 53 Man Roster:

Top Chances:

QB (1): Murray

WR (4): Kirk, Isabella, Butler, Johnson

TE (1): Wilson

OL (5): Cunningham, Cole, Gossett, Gaillard, Myles

DT (1): Dogbe

DE (1): Allen

Rush (1): Malveaux

LB (2): Gardeck, Turner

CB (2): Murphy, Jones

S (2): D. Thompson, J. Thompson

Plus—-in terms of special teams, don’t count out WR Trent Sherfield, LB Dante Booker, CB Deatrich Nichols and S Tyler Sigler.

On paper, there is potential star power here.

What’s encouraging is the added focus and attention that Kliff Kingsbury and his staff are giving the young players. The staff appears to be very excited about the youth movement.

As Cardinals’ fans have learned, talent on paper is one thing—-developing the talent is another.

The great challenge for any coaching staff is turning potential into impressive production.

Have you ever been more excited to see young Cardinals in action?

Just admit it!