To be clear, the Cardinals have yet to play a pre-season game. Thus, from week to week, depending on game grades, there is likely to be some movement along the Cardinals’ depth chart.
However, in taking a close look at the Cardinals’ 1st depth chart, here is what I believe it suggests:
FRONTRUNNERS:
QB (2): Murray, Hundley
RB (2): Johnson, Edmonds
WR (6): Fitzgerald, Kirk, White, Isabella, Butler, Johnson
TE (2): Clay, Williams
T (3): Humphries, Gilbert, Cunningham
G (3): Pugh, Sweezy, Gaillard
C (2): Cole, Shipley
NT (1): Peters
DE (3): Philon, Gunter, Allen
OLB (3): Jones, Suggs, Reed
ILB (4): Hicks, Reddick, Gardeck, Turner* (ST)
CB (3): Alford, Brock, Murphy (S—-Peterson)
S (4): Baker, Swearinger, D. Thompson, J. Thompson
ST (3): Gonzalez, Lee, Brewer
Total: 41
BUBBLE:
RB (3): Logan, Strickland, Foster
WR (3): Sherfield, Byrd, Cooper
TE (2): Seals-Jones, Wilson
T (2): Odhiambo, Miles
G (2): Gossett, (Garcia—PUP)
NT (2): Brown, Valentine
DE (2): McClain, Dogbe
OLB (4): Robertson, Dora, Malveaux, Branch
ILB (2): Walker, Vallejo
CB (3): Jones, Brooks, Nichols
S (1): Shaw
LONG SHOTS:
QB (2): Kanoff, Anderson
RB (1): Hills
WR (2): (Williams), Richardson
TE (2): Daniels, Belcher
T (2): Sweet, Lawrence
G (2): Vujnovich, Ehinger
C (1): Shelton
DE (1): Bailey
OLB (1): Taumoepenu
CB (1): (Williams)
S (3:: Owens, Ford, Sigler
ST (1): Winslow
Notes:
- In my opinion, there is no way the Cardinals are going to waive any of the draft picks they took in Rounds 1-6.
- The 7th rounders (T Miles, DE Dogbe and TE Wilson) are for now on the bubble, but each can make a strong case for the 53 in the pre-season, because each has veterans on the bubble ahead of them right now on the depth chart. In the case of a tie, the pick should go to the younger player.
- With the Cardinals having the #1 pick in waiver claims, all of the players currently on the bubble have to make a conclusive 53 man roster case to their spots could be taken by waiver wire additions.
- Several of the long shots have a decent chance of earning a spot on the practice squad.
Let’s have some fun with this—-post your predictions for the 53—-and we will do this each week of the pre-season following each of the 4 games.
The fan who gets the most number of players correct before the final cuts wins a Kyler Murray T-Shirt:
Here’s my updated projection (now based on the 1st depth chart)
QB (2): Murray, Hundley
RB (3): Johnson, Edmonds, Logan
WR (7): Fitzgerald, Kirk, White, Isabella, Butler, Johnson, Sherfield
TE (2): Clay, Williams
T (4): Humphries, Gilbert, Cunningham, Odhiambo
G (4): Pugh, Sweezy, Gaillard, Gossett
C (2): Cole, Shipley
NT (2): Peters, Brown
DE (5): Philon, Gunter, Allen, McClain, Dogbe
OLB (5): Jones, Suggs, Reed, Robertson, Branch
ILB (5): Hicks, Reddick, Gardeck, Turner, Walker
CB (4): Alford, Brock, Murphy, Jones
S (5): Baker, Swearinger, Shaw, D. Thompson, J, Thompson
ST (3): Gonzalez, Lee, Brewer
Go ahead—-tell us what you’ve got—-what are yours?