3 Cardinals Starters Who Could Get Reps vs. Cowboys

The Arizona Cardinals are going to sit some starters. Here's who might play against the Dallas Cowboys.

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton (16) against the Chicago Bears at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals are expected to play a mix of starters and backups on Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys.

"I don't want to say that all quote unquote starters [won't play] because we don't have our starters yet, per se. Obviously, I'm not going to sit here and say we don't know who's going to be our left tackle and who's going to be our center and stuff like that," said Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur.

"But it's not like 22 guys are going to be sitting out. There's going to be guys that are going to be out there on day one, that are going to be starters, that will be playing in this game."

We know Jacoby Brissett and Jeremiyah Love won't be playing in this game, though the rest is very much a mystery.

Three veterans/borderline starters who could potentially play against Dallas:

CB Max Melton

Melton, a former second-round pick, finds himself behind Will Johnson, Denzel Burke and now Garrett Williams in the starting cornerback race.

He's fast, versatile and can play special teams, so his roster spot isn't in question. However, his role is — especially after being benched towards the end of last season.

In fairness to Melton, the entire cornerback room seems pretty up in the air in terms of roles, especially towards the bottom. However Melton hasn't quite stood out during camp or preseason play, and with him very much battling with the entire depth chart, he'll likely need to get some run this week.

DL Darius Robinson

Robinson is a former first-round pick that's massively fallen below expectations. Despite having another strong training camp, preseason hasn't been kind thus far.

Robinson is still considered a starter and the upside is still there, though Arizona rotates their defensive line often. Case in point, there's viable replacements to eat into his snaps if Robinson can't make that coveted third-year jump.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Robinson get some run against Dallas, especially after a lackluster outing against Las Vegas.

S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

The safety affectionately known as "Rabbit" has seemingly fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. We all thought the runway to starting was clear this offseason after Jalen Thompson departed, though Andrew Wingard's signing changed that.

The good news? Arizona loves to utilize three-safety sets, so Taylor-Demerson should still play and somewhat often at that. However, he's clearly not a starter at this point, and his outing in Las Vegas wasn't quite encouraging.

Wingard safely feels like the guy opposite of Budda Baker, so perhaps some run on Saturday can be good for Taylor-Demerson's confidence more than anything.