Three Cardinals Who Impressed in Preseason Opener

The Arizona Cardinals now have their first preseason game in the rearview mirror - here's three players who impressed.

The Arizona Cardinals have now completed their first preseason game, emerging as a 1-0 football team after a thrilling 18-17 win over the Denver Broncos that saw the squad score a touchdown with two seconds remaining before converting a two-point try for the win. 

It was a night full of ups and downs on both sides of the ball, and though preseason victories ultimately don't count, the Cardinals hope to build momentum moving forward after Jonathan Gannon's first win in the desert. 

At an individual level, the players will try to do the same. 

Perhaps next week we'll see the likes of Budda Baker, Marquise Brown and other key starters who didn't feature for Arizona in the first week of action. 

However, the Cardinals still saw some notable performances.

Three Cardinals Who Impressed in Preseason Opener

OT Paris Johnson

No. 6 overall pick Paris Johnson was drafted with some outside thought of potentially starting at left guard while veterans D.J. Humphries and Kelvin Beachum anchored the two starting spots. 

Yet when training camp started, Johnson was starting at right tackle in place of Beachum. He's taken nearly every single rep with the starters at that spot and hasn't looked back. 

The Cardinals have raved about Johnson's play, and we finally got to see the Ohio State product in live action on Friday night. Though he played just 15 snaps, he showed he could hang with some of the best in the league. 

Nice rep by Cardinals rookie RT Paris Johnson Jr vs Gregory pic.twitter.com/uAvbTQLC9N

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 12, 2023

"I thought he played well. I thought he protected well. He had a couple of good run blocks in there that I saw, I gotta watch the tape on that," said head coach Jonathan Gannon following the game. 

"But there's no doubt that it's not too big for that guy. He came in and he was smiles, he was lathered up and ready to go."

Johnson only played 15 snaps but managed to shine on a few of those reps. If he can continue building, the sky appears to be the limit for the rookie. 

OLB Zaven Collins

Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons were moved to different positions after Gannon and his staff took over. 

On Friday night, Simmons played double (14) the snaps that Collins (7) did, though his role as a safety left him out of the action for the most part. 

Collins made the most of his limited reps at his newfound outside linebacker spot, notably forcing pressure on the first play of the game by quickly recognizing play-action and closing in on Russell Wilson to force an incompletion. 

#FFIDP Not a bad first pass rush rep for Zaven Collins… pic.twitter.com/pD4idLt7bL

— Mike Woellert (@Mike_Woellert) August 12, 2023

Later on, Collins' speed showed on backside run support where he closed down the line and brought the hammer on Denver's runner. 

"He looked good. I don't know exactly how many snaps he got but I thought he was coming off the rock pretty good and I saw somebody's neck snap back pretty good," said Gannon following the game. 

Especially after what many thought was a solid 2022 season at ILB, the move for Collins to the edge was one that took many by surprise. There's hope his athleticism, frame and football IQ can pay dividends at the position - his small sample size on Friday showed he just might be okay. 

CB Kei'Trel Clark

Paris Johnson shined at RT, Clayton Tune threw his first touchdown and Michael Wilson caught a few passes in his debut - but you can make an argument that Kei'Trel Clark had the best outing for a first-timer. 

Regardless of what the depth chart says, Clark has been in constant rotation with Christian Matthew to start opposite of Marco Wilson in Arizona's defense. 

After watching Matthew get the initial group of snaps, Clark went in and made plays in both run and pass support. 

The most notable was a beautiful diving pass break-up:

Cardinals rookie DB Kei’Trel Clark making a great play, diving for the PBU on a poor Stidham throw.

With the lack of talent/depth in the Cardinals secondary, Clark has a chance to see the field if he keeps making plays. pic.twitter.com/E011vuugDv

— Seven Rounds in Heaven (@7RoundsInHeaven) August 12, 2023

"I thought he competed... thought he had a couple good tackles - I gotta watch the tape truthfully on that one. But all of them, they competed, they came out here and put on a show," said Gannon.

The position battle will continue into the coming weeks of the preseason, but the Cardinals must have loved what they saw out of Clark in his debut.