The Arizona Cardinals’ 2018 season was rough, finishing 3-13. With injuries and poor play from projected starters throughout the season, their rookie class was forced into action early and often.
Their rookies made significant contributions.
Here are some of the numbers with the rookies and playing time, as released by the team.
- 14 different rookies appeared in games in 2018
- Eight rookies started at least one game
- Seven rookies started at least one game on offense
- Four rookies played in all 16 games (Mason Cole, Chase Edmonds, Zeke Turner, Dennis Gardeck)
- Four rookies scored touchdowns
Against the Atlanta Falcons, the Cardinals had six rookie starters on offense. It was the first time since the merger that the Cardinals had that many rookies start on offense.
That ideally shouldn’t happen again, especially since many of those rookies should be playing as a second-year player in 2019.
If anything good can come from last season, hopefully the playing time they got will translate into significant improvement this coming season.
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