Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart 2018 Cardinals Depth Chart

Preseason Analysis: A New Era in Arizona

The Cardinals find themselves in the midst of a rebuild, and in a very tough division. With Carson Palmer retiring, Arizona went out and signed Sam Bradford, while trading up in the draft to land Josh Rosen. Arizona lost John and Jaron Brown, leaving Larry Fitzgerald and J.J. Nelson as the returning wideouts. However, they did sign Brice Butler from Dallas, and draft Christian Kirk out of Texas A&M. Arizona is potentially setting things up for the future with a young core, and getting a healthy David Johnson back will help. The tight end situation has never been one to rave about in Arizona, but Ricky Seals-Jones has potential to pick up some more run. Rookies could make an early impact in 2018, especially with Bradford being very injury prone. Butler and Kirk will fight for the WR2 role, while Nelson remains the deep threat within this offense. Arizona also drafted Chase Edmonds, who should land the RB2 spot in the desert. If Johnson is not healthy or look like himself, Edmonds will be an interesting handcuff option. Arizona should be competitive this season, although it won’t show in the win loss column at least for now.

A new era is starting in Arizona. With quarterback Carson Palmer and head coach Bruce Arians gone, the Cardinals will turn to new coach Steve Wilks for guidance. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since the Cardinals finished 8-8 last season, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. However, it's going to take more than a new quarterback and coach to turn this team around. Here's the 2018 outlook for the Arizona Cardinals. Sam Bradford is a very capable quarterback. When we last saw him in the first week of the 2017 season, he was lighting up the strong Saints defense with over 346 passing yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Bradford on the field again because of a season-ending knee injury during that same game. For the Cardinals to have any success this season, the five guys up front have to keep their quarterback upright. This could prove to be a challenge for the O-line since it was one of the worst in the league last year. If it can come together, Bradford can continue where he left off before his knee injury last year.

Beyond an O-line that needs to step it up, another concern for the Cardinals this year is injuries. Nearly every starter on their team has missed a significant amount of play time over the last two seasons. The Cardinals need Andre Smith, Mike Lupati and Justin Pugh to return to true form. If these guys can stay healthy this year, it's not a far stretch to say that the Cardinals could easily be a top 10 team. Unfortunately, the odds of these guys playing all 16 games this season seem slim because of the sheer number of injuries that they've suffered during their careers. Pugh is one you'll definitely want to keep your eyes on. He's expected to give a big boost to the Cardinals' O-line this year. With that said, he missed nearly eight games last season with a back injury. He also suffered a MCL tear in 2016. There's a lot riding on a guy who's had two serious problems in the past two seasons.

The Cardinals insist that Bradford will start week one. However, he clearly isn't the future of the team. That honor goes to the number 10 overall draft pick of 2018, Josh Rosen. Some experts have even been predicting that, come week one, Rosen will be on the field. Whether people want to admit it or not, this kind of back-and-forth is bad for a team. Even if they tell Bradford that he's going to start, he knows he's just a couple of picks away from being benched for the younger and hotter Rosen. The Cardinals, however, seriously overpaid for Bradford. Chances are, the new coach is looking to get some of that money back by starting Bradford and giving Rosen a chance to learn under him. It's not a bad idea if they stick with it. Last year, the Cardinals' special teams was the Achilles’ heel. They allowed the third-most return yards of any team. On top of that, kicker Phil Dawson missed six field goals in the first half of the season. He ended with an impressive 90 percent accuracy, but he'll have to continue to be consistent in 2018. The special teams also got a new coach in Jeff Rodgers. Hopefully this former Bears coach can help the unit get back on its feet. There are a lot of factors in the air for the Cardinals. In the end, most of it comes down to the O-line. Regardless of which quarterback starts, the line is the key to success for the Cardinals this year. If they can keep Pugh healthy, they have a real shot at being a top team.