Three Cardinals Who Need to Impress vs Chiefs

The Arizona Cardinals welcome the Kansas City Chiefs for another taste of preseason action - these three players need to impress.

The Arizona Cardinals will welcome the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to State Farm Stadium later today, a place Andy Reid and company are very familiar with - KC started their 2022 season with a convincing win over Arizona before ending their season with a Super Bowl win in the very same house. 

New head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff hope to reach the same heights as their AFC counterparts, though that's far down the road of where the Cardinals are currently at. 

Yet they'll get an opportunity to see how the stand against a team fresh off of a championship for two quarters, as Reid told reporters earlier this week the Chiefs would play their starters for roughly the first half. 

"As far as the playing time goes for this coming game, the ones will go for a half and then we'll mix in the twos and threes in the third quarter," Reid said via Arrowhead Report.

"Obviously, there are things that happen during the game — don't hold me accountable if we pull people out whenever."

It's an exciting opportunity for Cardinals players and coaches alike.

"Do I enjoy good competition? Absolutely. Yes, I do. That's a phenomenal offense. Obviously, [getting to face] one of the best quarterbacks in the game, you'll find out how high of a level you can compete, so I'm excited for that," defensive coordinator Rallis told reporters. earlier this week.

It's a big test for everybody suiting up today, though some players will need to impress more than others. 

Three Cardinals Who Need to Impress vs Chiefs

1. Clayton Tune

It's unfair to place starting expectations on Tune as a fifth-round rookie, though an opening was certainly for the taking with Kyler Murray still rehabbing a torn ACL from late last season.

Colt McCoy has firmly had a grasp on starting duties in Murray's absence, and it would take a combination of poor play from the vet and excellent play from the rookie to see change come to fruition. 

Tune looked shaky in his first taste of NFL action but managed to bounce back nicely, finishing his night with a touchdown pass and leaving hope that a possible quarterback competition is still open.

Though the Cardinals never expanded on how much each group will play today, Tune will need to show he's learned from his mistakes last week and display improvement against Kansas City. Tune would need to have strong performances in multiple preseason games to make the quarterback convo interesting, and that starts today. 

It's a stretch to say Tune "needs" to impress, but a bad performance will surely put any hope of him starting away, at least for the next few weeks. 

2. Christian Matthew

Marco Wilson is currently locking down one side of Arizona's secondary, but the other boundary spot has been up for grabs all training camp.

The Cardinals currently have Antonio Hamilton listed as the starter opposite of Wilson, but guys such as Christian Matthew and Kei'Trel Clark have taken alternating snaps with the first team. 

Clark had an impressive outing last week with a diving PBU and showed he could tackle in run-support while Hamilton walked away with an interception. Nothing notable sticks out from Matthew's play, and in a contested position battle with multiple guys fighting for one spot, big plays matter. 

Matthew won't gain or lose much ground depending on his performance today, but if he indeed is going to be a starter, it's time to start matching his counterparts and make a few plays while he's on the field. 

3. Zach Pascal

Pascal doesn't "need" to impress, as his 53 man roster spot is all but locked up. His 6-2 frame and veteran experience has been valuable for the Cardinals and at worst, he's a good add to a fairly young WR room. 

When it comes to starting, Pascal is losing ground quickly. 

There's a few position battles that are highlighted while others are quietly happening, and the fight for playing time opposite of Marquise Brown is something not many Cardinals fans are noticing in Arizona's WR corps. 

With Brown established as the WR1 and Rondale Moore anchoring slot duties, Pascal is unofficially the other boundary receiver in 11 personnel.

Pascal finds himself on this list not because of poor play, but mostly the strong emergence of rookie Michael Wilson, who is quickly approaching "too good not to play" territory. 

In order to fight Wilson off, Pascal will need to put his big body to use and flash some of the things he was previously able to do in Indianapolis and Philadelphia.