Cardinals Rookies Ready to Shine vs Commanders

The Arizona Cardinals will count on three rookies to begin their 2023 campaign.

There's been plenty of talk surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and what they lost over the offseason.

Regardless of how head coach Jonathan Gannon feels towards the term "rebuild", that's precisely what Arizona has done under the guidance of new general manager Monti Ossenfort. 

J.J. Watt retired. Kyler Murray is still recovering from a torn ACL. Young pieces such as Zach Allen and Byron Murphy departed for greener pastures in free agency. DeAndre Hopkins was eventually released and Isaiah Simmons was traded for a seventh-round pick.

This team looks awfully different than it did at this point last season, but perhaps that's a good thing. 

Loss ultimately creates opportunity for others, and with the Cardinals focusing on building for the future, three rookies are slated to start on Sunday when the team travels to Washington to battle the Commanders. 

Cardinals Rookies Ready to Shine vs Commanders

No. 6 overall pick OL Paris Johnson Jr. didn't take long to solidify himself along Arizona's offensive line. 

When Johnson was taken, there was some initial thought that he would play at left guard with the two tackle spots occupied by D.J. Humphries and Kelvin Beachum. 

The Cardinals had other ideas.

Johnson began training camp as the starting right tackle and never looked back, asserting his presence along the offensive line and cementing his status as a starter. 

Humphries - his unofficial mentor - told reporters Johnson doesn't act like a rookie:

"He believes in himself. We don't have to church him, we don't have to jazz him up. We don't have to do any of that. He knows what he's supposed to be doing, who he is. In his mind he's not a rookie, just from what I see from him. He's not putting out rookie [tendencies] at all. That's one of my favorite things about him, for sure. He's coming to the game knowing, doing, believing in himself."

A little wider down the line of scrimmage will be WR Michael Wilson, who has done nothing short of impressed since arriving as a Day 2 pick. 

"Mike's got a unique skill set. Feel like our games complement each other very well," Marquise Brown said. "I feel like a lot of people that sleep on him, they're gonna wake up come game time."

Wilson may very well end up being the No. 1 receiver on Sunday after Brown was slapped with a questionable tag on Friday's injury report. If he flashes anything he did during training camp or preseason, the Cardinals will be in business. 

Sixth-round pick Kei'Trel Clark was only believed to be a special teams contributor with backup slot corner duties after he was drafted. Fast forward to present day, where he's starting opposite of Marco Wilson as a boundary corner. 

Clark saw ups and downs over the course of the preseason, though he was largely more impactful than Christian Matthew or Antonio Hamilton when it came to winning his position battle.

“He’s a guy who’s very fast, has a quick twitch, young, and I’m very excited to see what he can do on Sunday because he’s been making plays and I’m excited to see him make more plays this season,” said Budda Baker. 

It's the first step into regular season football for these guys, but Gannon said there's been no special bit of advice.

"No, because it's a game. I think just the length of what they're going to be playing is a little bit different. You got to be able to stay locked in mentally and emotionally, physically for a longer period of time. But we train them a certain way to be able to do that. Just focusing in and doing their job and fitting within what we need them to get done."

On Friday, Gannon had a short and simple message for his young guns:

"Take a deep breath and go let it rip."