Cardinals position breakdown: DBs
No one can be sure what the new-look Cardinals will actually look like this coming season. New head coach Kliff Kingsbury said he "has an idea" what the offense will look like with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, running the show. In a perfect world, it will be fast and explosive.
That’s also the hope with Arizona’s defense, which is returning to a 3-4 base scheme under new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. There are new faces, both young and old, just about everywhere on both sides of the ball. And after 14 different rookies appeared in at least one game a year ago, it’s reasonable to assume that at least eight of the team’s 11 draft picks this year will see some action.
Leading up to training camp, we’re taking a closer look at the team with a daily position-by-position breakdown.
Defensive backs
Back in February, there wasn’t too much to be concerned about with this particular position. The Cardinals had just acquired the perceived missing piece they’ve long been searching for in an established cornerback to start on the other side of Patrick Peterson.
But just a few months after the team signed free agent Robert Alford to a three-year deal, news broke that Peterson had tested positive for performanceenhancing drugs and was also found to have attempted to use a masking agent to cover things up.
The result: A six-game suspension to start the 2019 season.
It was a bombshell that rocked the entire organization, and it ravaged what was supposed to be one of the club’s greatest strengths. Peterson can train and practice with the Cardinals through training camp and the preseason, but then can have absolutely no contact with the club until the week of Arizona’s Week 7 game at the New York Giants on Oct. 20.
But what happens until then, specifically at the cornerback position?
The good news is Alford, 30, brings six years of valuable NFL experience with him from his time with the Falcons and will slide right into one of the two starting roles as both a solid press-man defender as well as dependable deep-cover corner.
Alford showed why the Cardinals committed $7.5 million to him per season during an exceptionally strong performance through offseason workouts and a series of mini-camps. But so did a few others who will battle it out for the starting spot opposite of him, a competition that will ramp up heavily at the start of training camp.
Three of the top candidates include veteran Tramaine Brock Sr., rookie Byron Murphy, the Cardinals’ secondround pick out of Washington by way of Scottsdale Saguaro High, and Chris Jones, a second-year undrafted pro from Nebraska. Their play allowed the team to release veteran David Amerson in what was a bit of a surprising offseason move.
At safety, the Cardinals are set with two steady playmakers in veteran D.J. Swearinger, who loves to bring the heat and has a passion for tackling, and thirdyear pro Budda Baker, who should excel as a ballhawk now that he’s getting moved further back as a pure free safety that can roam and fly into passing zones.
The depth at safety is intriguing, but a little unproven overall. It features Josh Shaw, a five-year veteran who can play multiple positions, a couple of young hopefuls in Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford, and a pair of rookies in Deionte Thompson, a sixth-round pick from Alabama, and Tyler Sigler, an undrafted free agent from Wheaton.
Player on the hot seat
Robert Alford: He was already under heavy pressure upon being anointed a starter almost immediately upon his arrival. With Peterson missing in action for the first six weeks, the heat will only ratchet up on Alford, who has started 76 of the 88 career games he has played. The other starting corner might get picked on more often, but Alford is sure to see plenty of passes thrown his way and when it happens he has to respond with break ups, deflections and interceptions. If he gets picked on and happens to get torched during Arizona’s first four games, three of which are at home, it could start a chain reaction of bad things happening in the secondary overall.
Potential breakout performer
Byron Murphy: Even without the services of Peterson for a month and a half, there is enough depth at the cornerback position for the Cardinals to play is safe with Murphy and only roll him out in obvious passing situations in nickel coverage. After watching him this offseason and listening to veteran players and coaches alike remarking about his natural playmaking abilities and high-ceiling potential, it’s realistic to believe Murphy can play his way into a full-time starting role as a true outside corner. For that to happen, though, the rookie will have to shine early and often in camp and not let up once he starts to truly impress.