The 10 most important players on the Arizona Cardinals
1. RB David Johnson (47 points)
2. S Tyrann Mathieu (46)
3. CB Patrick Peterson (39)
4. LB Chandler Jones (30)
5. WR Larry Fitzgerald (29)
6. T Jared Veldheer (18)
7. LB Deone Bucannon (17)
8. T DJ Humphries (14)
9. WR John Brown (11)
10 DE Robert Nkemdiche (eight)
The debate up top in the desert mainly boiled down to David Johnson and Tyrann Mathieu. Both players ranked within the top three on every ballot, and they split the first-place votes—Mathieu received three (Feldman, Jones and Vrentas); Johnson, two (Kaplan and Single).
Consistent support for Larry Fitzgerald, who ranked either fifth or sixth on 80% of the ballots. The lone exception (Single) had him at No. 3. Single’s ballot trended the other direction when it came to Jared Veldheer, as that was the lone top 10 where the offensive tackle did not make an appearance.
Eric Single defends his third-place vote for Larry Fitzgerald: This may look like a legacy vote, but the Cardinals made it clear last year that Fitzgerald will be an integral part of their offense as long as he is able to play. He’s just as valuable in the slot as he once was outside.
Other Cardinals receiving votes: Brandon Williams (four points), Corey Peters (three), Jermaine Gresham (three), Antoine Bethea (three), Haasan Reddick (two), Andre Ellington (one)
