The NFL offseason has slowed to a crawl for the Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the league with organized team activities and minicamps officially wrapped.
It’s now onto training camp, where there’s still plenty of questions surrounding Arizona heading into Year 2 under general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon.
But in the eyes of Cardinals Corner co-hosts Tyler Drake and Lauren Koval, the situation surrounding starting cornerback — specifically CB1 — reigns above the rest.
There are multiple options to consider, though veteran Sean Murphy-Bunting is the likely leader in the clubhouse entering training camp given his resume and overall NFL experience. But can he firmly solidify himself in that role ahead of the regular season?
There’s no shortage of candidates, either, with rookie Max Melton, Starling Thomas, Kei’Trel Clark and Garrett Williams expected to at least get a look from the coaching staff.
Drake stuck with the defense for his second question mark centering around Arizona’s pass-rushing department. In Drake’s eyes, second-year pro BJ Ojulari seems poised to make a jump. The same could be said for Zaven Collins after working on his craft at outside linebacker.
Koval, however, turned to the offense, pinpointing the battle at RB2 as the second big question mark in her opinion. When it comes down to it, Koval has rookie Trey Benson ahead of veteran Michael Carter in the pecking order behind starter James Conner.
Rounding out Drake’s top three questions was the looming decision at starting left guard. For the most part, Arizona’s offensive line is set following Paris Johnson Jr.’s move to left tackle.
Evan Brown appears to be the frontrunner in Drake’s opinion, though there is a handful of candidates in rookie Isaiah Adams, Elijah Wilkinson and Jon Gaines II.
Koval meanwhile wrapped up her ranking with the competition at WR2. Second-year pro Michael Wilson is in a good place after getting a ton of work in with quarterback Kyler Murray and Cardinals pass catchers this offseason.
But how much has that extra time given him a leg up on the competition?
The big name to watch in that regard is veteran Zay Jones, who has plenty of experience across seven NFL seasons.
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