COVER STORY
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Right guard
1 Will Hernandez, 2. Trystan Colon, 3. Keith Ismael Hernandez has been a consistent rock since joining the Cardinals in 2022 as a free agent, but he’s entering the final year of his contract. He’s still young (he turns 29 in September), so there’s still plenty of time to determine his future in Arizona. Colon can play both guard spots and Ismael can double as a backup center if needed.
Right tackle
1 Jonah Williams, 2. Christian Jones, 3. Jackson Barton
Williams started three seasons for the Bengals at left tackle until moving to the right side in 2023 and that’s where he’s expected to play in Arizona with Paris Johnson Jr. sliding from right tackle to left tackle. Williams signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals and he was one of their biggest offseason additions. Jones, meanwhile, looks like a steal as a fifth-round pick out of Texas. He could end up being the team’s right tackle of the future.
Defense
Defensive ends
1 Darius Robinson, 2. L.J. Collier, 3. Ben Stille
The Cardinals plan to use Robinson, their second pick in the first round, in multiple spots along the defensive line. He’s seen time on the edge as a pass rusher, but also lines up inside and helps Arizona’s rush up the middle. Collier seemed primed for a big season a year ago, but he tore his biceps in Week 1 and was done for the season. He’s back on a one-year deal, but the Cardinals could consider adding another defensive end before the season begins.
Nose tackles
1 Bilal Nichols, 2. Khyiris Tonga, 3. Roy Lopez There’s a ton of mass and meanness in this trio. Nichols was a free agent who signed a three-year contract after spending time with the Bears and Raiders. He’ll work in a rotation with the hulking 6-foot-4, 328pound Tonga, who agreed to a one-year deal, with Lopez standing by to offer further depth.
Defensive tackles
1 Justin Jones, 2. Dante Stills, 3. Phil Hoskins, 4. Myles Murphy
Jones, who comes to the Cardinals on a three-year deal after spending time with the Chargers and Bears, will get the bulk of the work at this position. He’ll get help on the occasions Robinson gets kicked inside. It will be interesting to see how Stills and Hoskins fit into the rotation, but don’t discount Murphy, an undrafted rookie free agent, from possibly making the team.
Outside linebackers
1 Zaven Collins, 2. BJ Ojulari, 3. Dennis Gardeck, 4. Victor Dimukeje, 5. Xavier Thomas, 6. Jesse Luketa, 7. Cameron Thomas
This will be a huge year for Collins, the team’s firstround pick in 2021. The Cardinals declined to pick up his fifth-year option, which wasn’t a surprise considering the price tag would have been paying him $13.2 million in 2025. Now he’s entering a contract year before becoming an unrestricted free agent and he has a lot riding on his success or lack thereof. Ojulari will get every chance to make an impact in his sophomore season and the team thinks he’s ready to take a big step. There’s plenty of depth here, but no star players and no sack specialists — at least not yet — and not all these players will stay. Watch out for Xavier Thomas, the fifth-round pick from Clemson.
Inside linebackers
1 Kyzir White, 2. Mack Jones Sr., 3. Krys Barnes, 4. Owen Pappoe
White led the Cardinals in total tackles with 90 and that included missing the final six games after suffering a torn biceps. He’s back to anchor the inside unit and gets help with the arrival of Jones Sr., who signed a three-year deal as a free agent. It was smart of the Cardinals to also re-sign Barnes, who did a bang-up job stepping in for the injured White down the stretch. Pappoe remains a freakish athlete whom the club hopes to keep developing.
Cornerbacks
1 Sean Murphy-Bunting, 2. Max Melton, 3. Starling Thomas V, 4. Elijah Jones, 5. Kei’Trel Clark, 6. Michael Ojemudia
Murphy-Bunting will start at one of the outside spots and then there will be one heck of a competition for the other starting job between Melton, a secondround pick this year out of Rutgers, and second-year pros Thomas V and Clark. Time will tell if Jones, another rookie draft pick, gets a shot to join the fray. Ditto with free-agent pick-up Ojemudia.
Nickel backs
1 Garrett Williams, 2. Jaden Davis
Williams handled this role very well as a rookie once he was activated to the roster following a knee injury in college, so it won’t be a surprise if that’s where Arizona primarily uses him again this year. Davis might end up on the practice squad as a seven-round pick, but the Cardinals can play one of their other corners at nickel as most of them are versatile enough to do it.
Safeties
1 Budda Baker, 2. Jalen Thompson, 3. Dadrion TaylorDemerson, 4. Andre Chachere, 5. Joey Blount
In Baker and Thompson, the Cardinals have one of the better safety tandems in the entire league. Baker is a six-time Pro Bowl selection who is still very much in his prime and Thompson has played at a Pro Bowl level at times since joining the team in the 2019 supplemental draft. Taylor-Demerson, a fourth-round pick from Texas Tech, is an intriguing player with plenty of speed and a strong skill set that will force him into the equation sooner rather than later.