Cardinals Camp Mailbag: Biggest Surprises, Storylines and More

What's up everybody!

All of the support on X, readership here on the site and viewership on the YouTube channel since Arizona Cardinals training camp has begun has been incredible. This time of year is always incredibly busy - but so rewarding at the same time.

We'll do another mailbag after training camp concludes on Thursday - thank you everybody who submitted questions this time around, and to cite Lil Wayne's best work of music - sorry for the wait.

Let's get into it.

Arizona Cardinals Training Camp Mailbag

Q: What or who has made the biggest improvement you have seen since day one of camp to now? - Bryan A

A: It's hard not to say Isaiah Adams. Adams had plenty of question marks entering this camp but has solidified those very quickly - earning praise from everybody from Jonathan Gannon to Darius Robinson, who's been on the opposite end of some feisty one-on-one battles against Adams.

Typically you're doing good as an offensive lineman when nobody is bringing your name up - though Adams' ability to anchor the right side of the line thus far has earned some loud praise from those around him. We'll see if that continues against guys not wearing the same colors as him.

Q: Should we see Jacoby Brissett take some first team reps? - Angry Cards Fan

A: Here my dude, eat a snickers.

Q: Haven’t heard much about Micheal Wilson. How does he look at practice? - Dustin H

A: Wilson, before entering concussion protocol, was having a fairly quiet camp - but I don't say that in a bad way.

Wilson was productive when targeted - though between Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr., it sure feels like the top targets are established for Kyler Murray with everybody else left fighting for scraps.

He's had limited opportunities but has looked solid in said outings. I can't recall him dropping a pass or losing a rep off the top of my head. The problem is, his moments in camp haven't been often.

Q: What’s been the biggest surprise so far during training camp? - Ed Helinski

A: There's a few different routes we can go here, but I'll take a pleasant surprise and go how dominant the defensive line room has been.

That in itself isn't a total surprise considering the names added and expectations placed on them - but it's different seeing it come to fruition on the field.

I'll never shake the feeling of watching them completely dominate the Cardinals' offense on the first day of pads. I walked back to the press box thinking, "Oh. My God. This group is for real." and they haven't looked back since.

So, maybe not a big surprise, but more so a confirmation of our high expectations being justified.

Since I didn't really give you a surprise, I'll say I was a bit surprised Zay Jones has supplanted Greg Dortch as WR3 in the offense. I thought the Cardinals were head over heels for Dortch in the slot, but maybe Jones just didn't get going enough last year.

Q: Who’s looked better, Akeem Davis-Gaither or Cody Simon? - Kiz Mxre

A: At this point it's been Davis-Gaither, but not unexpectedly nor by a large margin.

Arizona's doing their best to give everybody a fair shot with the first team next to Mack Wilson, but the veteran free agent addition has (unsurprisingly) looked more equipped to play than the Day 3 rookie.

Simon's been getting a lot of run with the second team, though he's still made first team appearances. Jonathan Gannon told us not to read too much into who plays with what squad, and I believe that to be true. Just because ADG is getting more looks right now doesn't mean he's head and shoulders ahead in the race for the other ILB starting spot.

I think that role won't be defined until Week 1 of the regular season. Right now, give me Davis-Gaither - but I do think Simon creeps into the lineup later in the regular season.

Q: Do you think the coaching staff will "rewrite their mistakes" and have the starters play a series or 2 this preseason? - Ryan Wagner

A: I do.

The debate on if teams should play their guys and how much will forever be a thing in the NFL. 32 teams have 32 different ways to approach it.

What I will say is I don't think the Cardinals were in love with how they started the year, and perhaps some of that can be attributed to practically none of the guys getting snaps in exhibition play.

We heard Kyler Murray (maybe accidentally) say something along the lines of the starters would have played last preseason if not for injuries - so maybe there's some truth that will carry over into this year.

Q: 1 player each on offense and defense. Who should I keep a special eye out for this preseason? - Ryan Wagner

A: Double dipping on the questions, I see you big dog!!!!

Offensively, I'll go Xavier Weaver. The Cardinals need some sort of supplemental help in that receiving corps and Weaver's had buzz around his name since arriving last season. Has he improved entering his sophomore campaign? He'll need to prove himself in preseason before earning regular season reps.

Defensively, I want to see Denzel Burke in action. His college career was considered to be up and down, but the Cardinals could have gotten a potential steal on Day 3 of the draft thanks to his talent and experience. If he can play up to par, perhaps the other two injuries in the CB room won't loom as large and the Cardinals will still have reliable depth.

Q: It’s very clear there is a competition in the DB room, what are the most important things you want to see, before giving a player significantly more snaps? - Chent

A: The most important thing I'm looking for is consistency.

That's a very broad and vague answer so that doesn't really help anybody out, so let me explain.

With a loaded defensive front and safety group, Arizona's corners don't need to be All-Pro caliber. If they are - awesome! But the Cardinals aren't banking on Pro Bowl play from any of their cornerbacks, they simply just need them to do their job.

And doing their job will see them get beat - that's just the nature of the position. BUT Arizona simply can't trot out a guy who consistently loses reps.

Good technique. Don't let losing reps pile up. Remain confident. That's what I want to see out of a guy before feeling confident giving them more snaps.

Q: How’s BJ Ojulari been? - Case Stafford

A: Ojulari still hasn't practiced since tearing his knee up last training camp, and quite honestly I'm not sure if we'll see him in preseason action. He's still been in street clothes at practice and there's been little to no indications he's nearing a return to the field - hopefully I'm wrong on that.

Q: Would like to hear your thoughts on the continuation (from last season) of Marv and K1 miscues. Never seen two top players struggle so hard for so long to get on the same page. - AZ Sports Fan

A: The connection looks better, and I think that's a testament not only to simply more time under task with each other, but Harrison has truly taken off this training camp - looking like the player everybody had hoped he would be last season.

But still, the two aren't quite on the same page. There's been numerous missed opportunities in camp, but that can be attributed to a number of factors.

It looks better, undoubtedly - but the K1-MHJ connection still is very much a work in progress.

Q: What storyline will you be monitoring that you weren’t thinking about prior to the start of training camp? - Charles Coryell

A; The offensive line depth was in the back of my mind entering camp, though it's kept to the forefront after watching the guys behind the starters struggle.

I'm confident in Kelvin Beachum, though the other depth guys haven't exactly shined through camp so far. Any shuffling needed with the starting five could be asking for trouble - especially in the interior.

Q: Which 3 players have impressed you the most so far and which 3 players would you like to see more from as we progress through training camp and the pre season - Stephen Harlan

A: This could be an entire article in itself so I'll try to keep this short.

Impressed: Marv (just looks filfthy), Darius Robinson (copy and paste) and Will Johnson (how did he slide???).

Want to see more from: Hayden Conner (bad snaps in camp as backup center), Owen Pappoe (make the ILB contest more interesting) and Elijah Jones (not in a negative context, just to bolster the CB competition).

Q: Has Rabbit made any splashes? Also is he starting? - Papatoast
Q: Haven’t heard or seen much of Rabbit. What have you seen? - Alec

A: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is looking very much like the exciting rookie we saw last season. Though he hasn't been able to thump anybody this camp, his speed to the ball is still on par, and that three-safety look has excelled with him on the field.

He's not a "starter' by definition, but Taylor-Demerson is playing plenty of snaps. No "splash" plays to note either, though those will come in live game reps, surely.

Rabbit looks good, rest assured.