The Arizona Cardinals will have many eyes on their wide receiver group in training camp and the preseason. They were a poorly producing group a year ago and the team drafted three and signed another pair. It will perhaps be the position with the most competition for both roster spots and playing time.
In the following pages, we will go over the players, the questions, the expectations, the roster battles and outlook.
The players
There are 11 receivers on the roster.
- Larry Fitzgerald enters his 16th year in the league and with the team.
- Christian Kirk enters his second season in the league and with the team.
- Hakeem Butler was drafted in the fourth round this year.
- Damiere Byrd enters his fourth season but first with the Cardinals. He spent three years with the Carolina Panthers.
- Phraoh Cooper enters his fourth NFL season and second with the team. He was a waiver claim addition late last season.
- Andy Isabella was drafted in the second round this year.
- KeeSean Johnson was drafted in the sixth round this year.
- A.J. Richardson is an undrafted rookie out of Boise State.
- Trent Sherfield enters his second season in the league and with the team.
- Kevin White enters his fifth year and first with the Cardinals. He spent four years with the Chicago Bears, who originally selected him seventh overall in the draft.
- Chad Williams enters his third season in the league and with the team.
The expectations
Simply put, they have to be better. With a new offense that should favor the receivers, big passing numbers are possible. That doesn’t mean any one player will have eye-popping numbers, but they should have better numbers across the board.
The hope is Larry Fitzgerald can return to his 2015-2017 form, that Christian Kirk can take the next step forward and the rookies can be contributors.
The questions
With three rookie draft picks, the first question is whether all will make the team. If so, how many will make an impact? There is the opportunity to do so.
Does Fitzgerald still have plenty in the tank?
Can Kirk bounce back from his broken foot?
Will Kevin White redeem his career?
Will any of the receivers outside of Kirk and Fitzgerald even make the team this year?
More importantly, how many receivers will they keep on the roster?
The roster battles
After Fitzgerald and Kirk, there is a wide-open competition for remaining four or five spots on the roster. Isabella nad Butler are expected to be contributors but they will compete with everyone else for the third and fourth receiver spots, which will get the playing time.
The outlook: Locks, bubble players and wild cards
Locks: Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler
Fitz is a legend. Kirk is a budding star and the team used the draft capital to keep Isabella and Butler on the roster.
On the bubble: KeeSean Johnson, Trent Sherfield, Kevin White, Chad Williams, Damiere Byrd, Pharoh Cooper
This is where it gets hard. Cooper can be a game-changing returner but isn’t anything special as a receiver. Sherfield and Williams carry the stink of 2018 with them.
Wild cards: Byrd, Sherfield, White
Sherfield was praised at every opportunity last year. It would be hard to count him out. White might be the most talented player on the roster at the position. He has size and speed. Can he stay healthy and get over the injuries that have plagued him? Byrd got a lot of looks in the offseason and has top-end speed. That is always appealing.
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