Five Cardinals to Watch in Preseason Debut vs Broncos
We have Arizona Cardinals football tonight.
It's well documented by this point that the Cardinals are not expected to be a good team in 2023. A new regime in head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort will need some time to construct this roster to their liking, and 2023 will be all about figuring out who fits and who doesn't.
Their first glimpse of that comes tonight against the Denver Broncos.
There will be several players worth monitoring tonight, both young and old, that could potentially be massive players in the future of this team. Tonight will be their opportunity to hopefully shine and prove they belong regardless of their previous status with the team.
As we begin the 2023 preseason, here are the five Cardinals you should be paying the most attention to tonight:
Paris Johnson Jr.
Naturally, all eyes will be on the Cardinals' first-round pick from this year's draft and Johnson will have a massive role to play in year one for his NFL franchise.
Johnson was made the sixth overall selection in April out of Ohio State and will be tasked with becoming a franchise cornerstone for the team as a valued offensive lineman. While the future goal may be to entrench him as the sought-after franchise left tackle, Johnson has seemingly cemented himself at right tackle for the upcoming season.
The Cardinals' first preseason game will be an excellent opportunity for Johnson to showcase himself as the future of Arizona's offensive line.
Clayton Tune
We still don't have a definitive timeline for Kyler Murray's return for 2023, which means we should expect to see plenty of backup quarterback options get their chance throughout the preseason to audition as starters in Murray's absence.
Tune is one of the candidates.
Tune was wildly productive at Houston, throwing for nearly 12,000 yards and 104 touchdowns. He's a confident-enough quarterback who can do a bit of everything as a passer and also beat you with his legs as a runner.
The rookie signal caller will get every opportunity over the next three weeks to prove he deserves the chance to start while Murray is on the mend, but this will also be his chance to prove he deserves a roster spot for this season and beyond. Nothing is guaranteed for Tune, so he'll have to show tonight that he can make things interesting.
Michael Wilson
There is no denying Wilson's talent and upside, the problem has simply been his health and ability to stay on the field. When Wilson suits up tonight, there won't be as many people paying attention to #14, but I believe that shouldn't be the case.
During his time at Stanford, Wilson displayed some serious upside in his five seasons at Palo Alto, including a 2019 season where he hauled in 56 passes for 672 yards and five touchdowns - all career bests. When Wilson was healthy, he was one of the PAC-12's top receivers.
Wilson will have an opportunity tonight to show that he belongs on an NFL field and, like many others, show that he deserves to be a part of the team's future plans in a new era under Gannon and Ossenfort.
Myjai Sanders
Sanders was always seen as a prospect who was likely a one or two-season (s) project before he became a legitimate pass-rushing machine. Sanders actually looked rock solid as a rookie, recording 17 tackles and three sacks in 13 games played. Sanders' three sacks were tied for fourth-most on the team.
The development into year two will be important to see how he's developed, however, Sanders' career clock will be accelerated a bit under a new regime that for all intents and purposes doesn't owe him anything, right, wrong, or different, seeing how they didn't draft him.
Sanders still doesn't need to look like the top pass-rushing option for the Cardinals, but the preseason needs to show that he's made progress toward becoming a key fixture in that unit. Tonight's preseason matchup will be a great test to show how he's developed from year one to two.
Isaiah Simmons
Simmons is in his final days with the Cardinals after struggling to live up to his top-10 draft billing. The team declined his fifth-year option, making him a free agent after this season, and now Simmons will be moving from linebacker, where he started his first three seasons, to safety. It will be one of the biggest storylines for the Cards in 2023.
A new defensive scheme under Gannon and first-time defensive coordinator Nick Rallis will give Simmons a fresh start to showcase the all-world talent and potential he flashed. Simmons had even spent some time as a safety/nickel defender toward the end of last season, so some experience and a new scheme could be just what the doctor ordered to turn his career around.
Like most players, but perhaps even more than his peers, the 2023 season will be more pivotal than any other year for Simmons to prove he belongs in the NFL as a starter, let alone in Arizona. Tonight will be our first look at Simmons in his new role in the secondary and all eyes will be on him.
