What We Learned About Cardinals During Training Camp

The dust has settled on the Arizona Cardinals' training camp - what did we learn?

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) huddles with his teammates during training camp at State Farm Stadium on Aug 6, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are officially done with training camp ahead of their preseason slate of three games - the first of which will be played on Saturday against the New Orleans Saints.

Two weeks of padded action has seen Jonathan Gannon's squad improve from his first year at the helm:

"Thought it was good. I like the adjustments that were made. I told the team last night we're on the right trajectory, but we got to get better every day. And there's a clock ticking - it's pressing. We got to be on it," Gannon told reporters.

"Hopefully better - but hope's not a good strategy. I think we're better. I think just being year two, guys understanding the level of understanding that's going on. I always tell them, do you know or do you know-know? I think we know-know a little bit more, but we still got a long way to go."

We'll get a better look at Arizona's squad when players are put in live action and the bullets start flying.

Until then, here's something we learned about each position group at training camp:

QB: Kyler Murray Looks Legit

Everything in camp has to be taken with a grain of salt, but Kyler Murray has looked extremely impressive thus far. Murray has continuously found open receivers and looks night and day more comfortable in this offense as Year 2 approaches under Drew Petzing.

Short. Medium. Long. Sideline. Over the middle. Murray's done it all.

Other notes:

• The QB2 battle between Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune looks... like the Cardinals better not see Murray go down again. Ridder's thrown a handful of interceptions while Tune still opts for short gains instead of pushing the ball deep. Neither quarterback has looked ultra impressive and both feel confident with where they're at as preseason play begins, we'll see how that stands a few weeks from now.

RB: Behind James Conner, It's Anybody's Game

Conner is the undisputed RB1 in Arizona and will again look to take a big bulk of snaps at the position, though the Cardinals' race for RB2 has perhaps been more interesting than some had thought.

Rookie rusher Trey Benson hasn't quite established his footing during his first camp, a very understandable theme for a first-timer.

Arizona isn't just handing him the keys to playing time, either. Emari Demercado has made a serious push for playing time, having been involved in plenty of first-team action while also garnering praise for his pass-blocking and special teams acumen.

Don't forget about the newly signed DeeJay Dallas (who figures to be heavily involved on special teams) and Michael Carter, who came on strong at the end of last season and is very much still a quality option behind Conner if needed.

It's an interesting race behind Conner - and as preseason approaches - it truly feels like the spot is up for anybody's grabs.

WR: Everybody Has Shined... Everybody

If they've been targeted, they've made a play.

That goes for essentially anybody who has caught a pass from a quarterback this camp, as all of Arizona's receivers have made numerous plays.

Marvin Harrison Jr. has looked every part of the No. 4 overall pick Cardinals fans have wanted him to be. Michael Wilson continues to prove himself on the boundary while Greg Dortch has caught damn near everything thrown in his catch radius.

Don't forget about Zay Jones, who can play across numerous spots out wide and has seen his number dialed a few times, too.

The top of Arizona's depth at receiver has looked very strong.

TE: The Cardinals Love Elijah Higgins

Trey McBride has done his thing, but the story of camp at tight end has been Elijah Higgins, who has gotten plenty of run with the starters ahead of rookie Tip Reiman.

Higgins didn't have a great start to camp, fumbling balls on back-to-back practices while also dropping a key pass over the middle from Murray.

Still, Gannon had some major praise for "Higgy Bear" and his abilities as a receiver - which has been evident even after the mistakes.

Rookie tight ends take a long time to develop, so to expect Reiman to emerge as a pass-catching option behind McBride early was a stretch. While Reiman will still be featured in a strong run-blocking role (Drew Petzing does indeed like his multi-TE sets), it's clear Arizona sees Higgins as the clear TE2 in the desert.

OL: The LG Competition Was Sold From The Start

Perhaps this story would be different if Jon Gaines was fully healthy, though it's been Evan Brown who has paced Arizona at left guard from start to finish during training camp.

Many had overlooked Brown when he first signed with the Cardinals despite years of starting experience with Seattle, and despite previous starters such as Elijah Wilkinson/Trystan Colon and rookie guard Isaiah Adams battling too, Brown impressively anchored the spot and seemingly has a solid grip on starting duties.

Other notes:

• Hjalte Froholdt and Will Hernandez still look solid at the other respective interior positions. At tackle, Paris Johnson seems to have smoothly transitioned to the left side while Jonah Williams hasn't played great nor poorly at right tackle.
• More on Gaines - he's been really impressive this camp despite not being 100% from his season-ending knee injury last year. If any interior starter goes down, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him as the first man up to fill a void.

DL: Darius Robinson is a Monster

It's rare that a first-round pick isn't exactly talked about often, though thanks to Marvin Harrison Jr., Robinson has been somewhat overlooked by fans and media.

That might not last long.

Robinson was a bit slow out of the gates to start camp, though the Mizzou product flipped the switch during the final week of practice and emerged as a serious contributor along the defensive line. Whether it was 1v1 or team activities, it sure felt like Robinson won a lot more reps than he lost.

Other notes:

• Roy Lopez and Khyiris Tonga have both given strong performances at nose tackle, Lopez especially was tasked with emerging as a leader in the defensive line room.
• That paired with the arrival of Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols has given the DL group a renewed energy that appeared to be lacking last season.
• DC Nick Rallis loves to rotate his guys up front, so they'll call upon a plethora of names. Don't pay attention to depth charts in preseason, as each guy will get opportunities.

EDGE/OLB: Concerns Are Valid

BJ Ojulari was on his way to a strong 2024 campaign before his season-ending knee injury. The Cardinals were banking on him to lead an all-around jump for the position group, and quite frankly his absence leaves a hole in an already thin group.

Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck now are the two starting outside linebackers. Collins - as Gannon framed it - needs to boost his sack production in 2024 while Gardeck has been good in spurts.

There were already concerns about the Cardinals' ability to get after the passer this season. Losing their top option did them no favors in that area, and now Arizona desperately needs Gardeck and Collins to hit levels they haven't reached before.

ILB: The Violent and Versatile Duo Will Be Fun

Kyzir White and Mack Wilson are here to chew bubble gum and get pads thumping.

They're all out of bubble gum.

Despite the season-ending biceps injury in 2023, the Cardinals walked away extremely impressed with the play of White. Adding the versatile Wilson (who has seen time at edge rusher this camp as well) to the mix gives him a proper running mate, and the two have already forged a bond on the inside.

The two are extremely alike - both on and off the field - and should provide the Cardinals with stability in their front seven.

CB: Garrett Williams Has Arrived

If we had to award a training camp MVP, Garrett Williams would finish near the top of the voting.

Williams overcame a knee injury suffered in college and established himself as a starter during his rookie season for the Cardinals.

Now, he's arguably their best corner.

Williams has made play, after play, after play in training camp. He's stuck like glue to receivers both while honing slot duties in nickel packages and boundary positioning when the Cardinals are in their base 3-4.

Williams hasn't quite reached All-Pro levels, though he looks exactly what Arizona had hoped he'd be entering Year 2.

Other notes:

• It'd be a disservice to not talk highly of Starling Thomas V, who has earned serious consideration with the starters as an outside corner throughout camp. He and Max Melton have both had their share of good days opposite of Sean Murphy-Bunting and will continue to push each other into the season.

Safety: Same Old Song and Dance

That's a good thing, as the duo of Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker ensured the Cardinals' offense wasn't quite able to push the ball over the top through different days of camp.

Another year with what could be the league's most underrated tandem should only mean good things for the Cardinals.

That's it - not much to say other than guys such as Chachere and Taylor-Demerson have looked fine during second team duties.

Special Teams

We didn't see Matt Prater kick much during camp, at least field goal-wise. He's still using the narrow posts and booming kicks in the little we saw, though.

Speaking of booming kicks, Blake Gillikin looked sharp as Arizona's punter and again could be a force in pinning teams deep with his leg.

The position battle at long snapper between Aaron Brewer and Joe Shimko is alive and well according to special teams coach Jeff Rodgers. We'll see how that develops through the preseason.

Greg Dortch was heavily involved during punt return duties, though it will be interesting to see how Arizona manages his playing time now that he's a starter.

Rookie Xavier Weaver will get plenty of run through special teams to make this roster. Watch for him in all three preseason games as a guy who could earn reps there - the Cardinals spoke very highly of him thus far.

And, finally, the Cardinals - much like the rest of the league - are still trying to figure out this new kickoff rule. They've experimented with a few things, though we'll see how it pans out when action goes live against New Orleans.