May 30, 2025 • 28 mins
Ep. 888 - As OTAs continue to roll along for the Cardinals, the conversation surrounding the team’s depth continues to be discussed. Zach Gershman and Darren Urban (yes, you read that correctly) talk about the latest on Cardinals Cover 2. With the arrival of Jacoby Brissett, what does that mean for Clayton Tune in the backup quarterback competition? Can Trey Benson take that sophomore season leap even while James Conner plays at a high level? Also, Zach and Darren share which player from the 2024 draft class they are most eager to see take a step forward.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's the duo you have all been waiting for.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, I'm sorry, it's not Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison
Junior jumping on the pod. That's right, it's Zach Gershman
and Darren Urban stepping in for today's Cardinals Cover two.
Speaking of duos, we spoke with James Connor earlier in
the week. Darren and I discussed the one two punch
of Connor and Trey Benson. We also talk about some
of the other players entering year two and continue breaking
(00:29):
down OT eight. It's Cardinals Cover two, episode eight hundred
and eighty eight. That's right, triple eights and it starts now.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
P to Baker, What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of
the Arizona Cardinals and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals
dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
He's ad the ten half of five pays it again?
More hurry magic?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Whoa here?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Zach gersh Man. All right, Darren, so let's have some
fun here. Let's start off with the true.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Or well, I don't know if we're going to if
you're here, but go ahead.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I'm gonna at least try to. I'm thinking the same
thing about you. I'm so okay, we're just everybody deep breath.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Then I'm fine. Now you know I got my coffee.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
See I didn't get my coffee and you got Starbucks.
That's wrong. Well you'm gonna get.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Your coffee because you probably didn't get out of your
apartment fast enough to get here. On timing, coffee.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Drove into the building five minutes before the show started. Anyway,
we're here, So let's start off with the true or false? Yes,
true or false? Darren, have you ever had a moment
where you've been scrolling through whether it's YouTube, Instagram, Twitter x,
where the algorithm was so accurate and so targeted that
it got to the point where you were kind of
a little bit scared about it.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I don't know if I've ever actually been scrolling through
social media. Now, I have been had a few targeted
ads in my social media days, whatever platform it is,
where I'm like, wait a minute, I've never talked. I
was just talking to my wife about this product that
I had never brought up in my life, and now
all of a sudden it's showing up on my algorithm.
That's a little troubling, but yeah, I mean there have
(02:17):
been times, but I like, for me social media at
this point when it's coming up, it's like, Okay, I
kind of understand why it's doing this now.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I'm the type of person that can have a
little bit of a nervous laugh at points when I
see something me I know, surprising, but I have a
little bit of like a nervous chuckle. And was sitting
in the office on Thursday, I had that moment and
you were sitting right next to me. Yes, as I
start the chuckle, and then I hear over the monitors,
what's so funny, Zach?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And it's not.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Because I was preparing the run down here for Cardinals
Cover two presented by Hundai. Instead, I'll scrolling through YouTube
where I find a lot of information, and I came
across a song by a guy named DJ Clarence. He
has one subscrib in this video. It was a song
about Clayton tune and a jersey that he ordered that
(03:06):
was stuck in the male part in the postal offices
and he wasn't able to get his Clayton Tune jersey
for game day. So you heard me kind of chuckled.
I'm listening to this and I'm like, this is how
does this video which has six views so targeted? How
did it find us?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
But it did? And it was a catchy song too,
I said it was catchy?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Who sent it to me? I don't know if I've
ever quite heard as specific of a song as essentially,
I ordered a Clayton Tune jersey and I haven't gotten
it yet, and now I'm at a game and I
don't have my jersey and I feel left out. That's
essentially what the song was.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
It was, and the cover photo.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I guess he does end up getting the jersey because
he's wearing the Claytonton jersey on the Great Lawn right
outside State Farm Stadium.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
There's a lot of questions that come with that.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
There are so many questions. I think he's probably asking,
how did our views triple from six views to now eighteen?
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Well, one of the reasons is because we put the
link in our years.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
But he's probably wondering this just happened. But anyway, let's
please check it out. Everyone, come correct, go first, check
out eighteen bars and eight to Z Senior I just
got that song rock but yeah, tell me there.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
The if you it's the song about not receiving a
Clayton Tune jersey in the mail after you ordered it
that you never knew.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
You needed exactly. And let's talk.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We're gonna talk about OTAs James Connor, Trey Benson in
a handful of other players. Clayton Tune is one of
those guys that are going into year number three. And
before we get into the running backs, what you you
brought up something to Drew Petsing about the quarterbacks, Jacoby
Brissett coming in, how Clayton Tune handles everything, And Drew
Petson kind of framed it to what it was last
year with Desmond Ritter coming in. What do you think
(04:50):
a guy like Clayton Tune is starting to think now
that he's going through a thirty year of OTAs well?
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's finny, So I asked Drew Petsing, you know, what
do you tell a player like Clayton Tune when you
sign up guy like Jacoby Brissette. Now, as you said,
Petsing said, look, it's no different than last year when
we brought in Desmond Ridder. Now they traded for Desmond Ridder.
I would say this at the time, I think there
is a parallel, But the reality is Jacoby Brissette has
(05:15):
a better resume than Desmond Ridder did. And I still
think when when you brought in Desmond Ridder, I think
the assumption was that Clayton Tune was gonna be the
third guy, and he ended up beating out Desmond Ridder.
So I suppose it still could happen, but I think
they really like what Jacoby Brissett is bringing to the table.
And when you start doing the numbers, even here in
(05:37):
very very late May, of what the roster is going
to look like, I don't see any possible way how
you carry three quarterbacks and the fifty three main rosters.
So that said, it is going to be a battle.
What happens with Clayton Tune. We will see. You know,
they're gonna have to have somebody on the practice squad
if they only carry two quarterbacks. Whether that's Clayton Tune,
I don't know. It's not gonna be Kobe Brissette. I
(05:57):
would think he would end up somewhere if they decided
to go with Clayton Tune. So I think it's a
fascinating thing. But again, if you're Clayton Tune or any
other player, it's a year to your business. And yeah,
there's some guys who you can pencil in that are
going to be on the team, and I get that,
but Clayton Tune's one of those guys who's going to
be fighting for his job every year, and that's where
he is.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
It's interesting because when we were out there on the
field during OTAs, and we'll break down the practices a
little bit, it was so the quarterbacks are kind of
standing off to the side and you could clearly see
how much bigger Jacobe Prissette is compared to both other guys.
He just is one of those guys that has the
frame that I thought was pretty was pretty interesting to see.
And also he has that familiarity. Johnthgannon even joked and said,
(06:39):
I sometimes have to remind myself that I was on
a coaching staff with Jacoby Brussette too, so he has
familiarity with Drew Petsing And I think Clayton Tune has
had a very mature approach to it. Maybe it's because
he's listened to the song along the way. I'm not
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
I would say a final thought on that. For me, again,
I think Clayton too. Every player needs to have a
certain amount of self awareness. It doesn't mean he can't
win a job, it doesn't mean he can't beat out
Jacoby Brissett. But the reality is, as we sit here
in whatever May thirty thirty first, if Kyler Murray were
(07:13):
to get injured at this point, you're probably going to
be more comfortable with Jacoby Brissett standing in for two
or three starts than Clayton tune. That doesn't mean it
can't change, It doesn't mean but we've seen it from Jacoby.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Presett one eight hundred twenty six passing yards last year
with the New England Patriots, when he was with Drew
Petsing in Cleveland in twenty twenty two over twenty six
hundred passing yards, twelve touchdowns and eleven starts. So he
definitely has the experience in Drew Petsings system.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Big guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Let's talk about another big guy who came right into
the press conference room right after a workout drenched in sweat.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
James Conner.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
He needed to take a moment to catch his breath
in I saw somebody in the comment section i one
of the videos saying that he looks like he's about
a cry. No, that is just straight sweat from James Connor.
He lives in that weight room. It was nice to
get a chance to sit down with James and talk
with him. Darren any early impressions from what the blueprint
of the Cardinals offense had to say.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
I mean again, we're talking about a guy who is
the bellcal of this offense. He's the emotional leader. He
is the way they've built this offense, the the engine
that makes it go. They want to run the ball,
and he's the number one running back. So look, I've
always been a big fan of James Connor. I think
(08:30):
he's gotten He's had his best years since he came
to Arizona. When you look at running backs and they
hit age thirty, which he has now done. The fact
that he seems to be getting better as he gets
older is crazy. And he lives the life and there
is nothing I don't like about it. I said this
a couple of years ago when Jonathan Gannon showed up.
(08:51):
You know, James Connor at every reason to not say
a bunch of great things, not to say bad things,
but just to like be waiting see. And James Connor
was bought in from Jump, And I thought about this
when he was talking. When you get a guy like
James Connor, when a new coach comes in, you tend
(09:13):
to want to make a lot of changes. You want
to get your guys. Any boss wants to do that,
the fact that you can find one of your guys
who's already here, which I think James Connor is that guy.
And Buddha Baker too to a lesser extent. Now the
Buddha Baker thing got was a little awkward for a
little while because of the contract. But James Connor is
(09:33):
a guy that Jonathan Gannon could lean on right away
because A he plays the style of football that Jonathan
Gannon wants to play and b he was bought in
from Jump. He's everything you want in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
He is one of those players. And you wrote it
when you were writing the article about kayzer White and
the Cardinals Moving on, you mentioned how Kayzier was an
integral part of Jonathan Gannon's arrival in changing the culture
and the way that it shifted to where it currently
is at present day. James Conner is another one of
those players, Buddah Baker. Those are the type of guys
even DJ Humphries when he was here at a guy
(10:06):
like Paris Johnson Junior. These are the players that you
needed to have the confidence for them to step up
and to speak up. And James Connor, while he is
often pretty silent, he is one of those players. But
you mentioned his you mentioned his age, and it's fascinating
because twenty eight has one thousand and forty rushing yards
and he says that that's now the floor, and you're
sorry to say to yourself, Okay, it's the first time
(10:28):
he's ever cracked one thousand. He's on the verge of thirty.
How is he going to be able to do it?
Does it again? One ninety four yards a nine total
touching rush, nine total touchdowns, eight rushing last year in
twenty twenty four. Is it fair to assume that this
guy is not slowing down anytime soon?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I mean, he hasn't given you any reason. I mean,
we'll see what happens some athletes, and I'm not just
talking about running back there there can be a quick dropoff.
I don't see it right now, and it's funny as
we sit here, Zach, you're somebody who could actually and
you better not, but you could look at a thirty
(11:06):
year old and going, yeah, he's getting up there because
of your age, which is what twelve.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Three, twenty three enough, we're not math guys.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
I would give anything to be well, and I see,
I don't. I don't want to say that I wouldn't
give anything to be thirty again, because there's there's there's
wisdom in these years, and there there's benefits from getting
a little bit older. But thirty. I it's been a
long time since I saw thirty, So it's it's always
weird to talk about an athlete getting older at thirty,
(11:34):
and I'm like, whatever, I if he's going to have
a drop off, I would be surprised if it's this year.
But again, that's why you bring in a guy like
Trey Benson, and that's why you try and meshit, and
that's why you try and get to a place where
you have a couple guys that can do the job.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
In five years when I'm twenty eight, I will ask
you for all the wisdom that thirty well that I
will need from when I When you're.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Working for WIP back in Philly.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
That is the hometown station who was actually having the
Flyers head coach in the studio, which is so rare.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
They're buying back into Philadelphia Flyers.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
What the hell just happened?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You brought me, you brought me back. Anyway, let's let's
bring it, let's reil it back in here, because you
know you're applying the pressure to me, and I understand
you know where you're coming from with things. James Connor said,
the pressure is always forever present, and he said you're
either dealing with it. You're either feeling it or you're
applying it. And he said, right now, we're applying it
and we're enjoying it. The Cardinals in a lot of ways,
(12:33):
I understand that people are in the national media landscape
are talking about the Rams and the forty nine ers
being in the driver's seat of the NFCU wes, can
you also get that sense that the Cardinals, though, feel
like they're in that same seat too, that it really
is on them because of leaders like James Connor saying
why not now with this talented roster.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
So I'm going to say this about winning and where
they are. One, Yes, there are expectations. You're in the
third year with Annie Austin for Jonathan Gannon. You this
is not a league set up for five year rebuilds.
And you can look at last year and say, I
mean they were in a position to make a run.
(13:12):
Last year, they didn't do it. They kind of dissolved
after the bye, but they were in a position last
year to do it. So yeah, there there should be expectations,
there should be pressure. I've also said this, like when
you talk about do they feel like they're in the
driver's seat, Look, it's it's about them. It's always about them.
I understand other teams are are part of the equation
(13:34):
and whether they're good and and all those things, but
I was asked these questions when the schedule first came out,
and you know, what do you think they're gonna do
in those first few games? What I'm like, are they good?
If the Cardinals are good, then they're the record overall
is gonna be just fine, and they're gonna push for
a playoff spot. You know, if they're not good enough,
(13:56):
then they're not gonna be good. And I don't think it.
To me, it doesn't have as much to do with
where the forty nine ers are where the Rams are?
Is this team good enough? Like last year, like the
Packers were a good team and they made the playoffs.
Were they good enough to win the division? No, they
finished third in their division, but they were a pretty
(14:17):
dang good team. Like again, I struggle sometimes with measuring
who is in the quote unquote driver's seat for a
division per se, because if you're good enough, you're gonna
make a playoff push, whether the other teams are good
or not.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
And of course it's always about still building from within
your own roster and developing those guys. And Trey Benson,
who is behind James Connor on the depth chart, even
though a lot of people have been asking when is
Trey Benson going to go buy James Connor? When is
he going to become that RB one. In today's NFL,
there's so many one to two duos in the backfield.
(14:56):
You think about what the Detroit Lions have with Jamior
Gibbs and David Montgomery, and I think the Cardinals showcased
a little bit of that towards the back end of
the season with Trey Benson receiving a little bit more reps.
So they always talk about that year one to year
two jump for a lot of these rookies going into
their second year. But just how much of a jumpkin
Trey Benson actually make because James Connor is still ahead
(15:17):
of him on the depth chart.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Well, I think he can make a substantial jump even
behind Connor, because I think this is what the Cardinals
are going to lean into now. The question is is
the comfort level on Trey Benson doing things besides carrying
the football? I think there. I think he needed to
(15:42):
He needs to improve his pass protection, you know. And
and as a pass catcher, is he as good as
James Connor right now? And or you know, how is
that going to work out? It's funny we saw Jonathan
Gannon the question was asked, you at Connor's age this
time of year, do you back off, you know, giving
(16:05):
him reps because he's older? Why would you burn him
out in in May? And JG made the joke all
you know, if I bring that up to him, he's
gonna punch me in the face whatever. And then then
he comes in all sweaty and all that thing. But
if that's the case in May, what do you think
the case is gonna be look like? In a game situation,
(16:26):
Connor wants those snaps. There's a couple things in play here. One,
If Benson's playing really well, I do believe they'll ride
the hot hand a little bit, give Connor a little
bit of a rest. If Benson's really kicking butt, I
think they'll leave him out here. The other thing, too,
is this offense needs to have more consistency period. If
it has more consistency period, there's gonna be more snaps.
(16:48):
And if there's more snaps, then Trey Benson gets more
work in addition to running with James Connor, and I
think they'd love that.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
In thirteen games, Trey Benson had sixty three carries, sixteen
of those when for our first down, and he said,
when he was sitting in this seat on Burns and
Gamba earlier in the week, how it was really the
game against the Even though we scored his first touchdown
against the Chicago Bears in week nine, it was the
week ten matchup against the New York Jets where it
started to click for him that he actually could stand
(17:17):
in the NFL, and not just stand in the NFL,
but exceed. He said he was bouncing off a couple
of tackles, and he was saying, all right, these big
dogs are really all that big. I am able to
handle it, bounce off the tackles, because in the beginning
those first few weeks, he kept going very laterally sidelines
to sideline and was not going upfield. Towards the back
end of the season, we saw Trey Benson start to
(17:37):
have that acceleration in that burst that we saw at
Florida State.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
It's something that all runners in the NFL have to
figure out. I've watched it for twenty five years. To
a lesser extent, it reminded me of Kyler Murray's rookie
season where he would scramble and he would he would
think when he was in trouble, he could just sprint
outside and he'd get the edge even against a outside line.
And what he realizes, Oh, on this level, the outside
(18:03):
linebackers who weighed two hundred and fifty pounds or two
hundred and forty pounds are still fast enough to get
the you know, to cut me off. Benson kept thinking
he could bounce it outside and get the edge like
he was doing in college, and you cannot do that.
It felt like James Connor rubbed off on Trey Benson.
As the season was going on, he started running a
(18:23):
lot more Connor esque and I think he's built that
he could do that. And yeah, the spray and the
bad sprain ankle was really disappointment because he really looked
like he was kind of coming into his own When
he got hurt late in the season, Benson.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And when James got injured as well, you weren't able
to see what Trey Benson was able to do as
that RB one because James was because he was already
sidelined at that point. But something he also said when
he was sitting here was just about his confidence. He
was talking about that and he said, year or two
coming around, I feel like good things are about to happen.
I'm walking like I already feel like I have it
(18:59):
that this is going to.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Be a year.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Darren, You've been covering the league since before I was
even born.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
While there it is, I was happy to clipping that
Cody had to wait.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And so you have seen players throughout their maturation process
in the NFL, from some of the guys who have
only been in the league for a year to guys
like Fits who have been doing the guys like Kalay's
Campbell's now going to his eighteenth season. How much can
that confidence actually help a player going into year number two?
Cause we're about to talk about players that are making
(19:30):
that year one to year two jump. How much will
that confidence actually help some of these guys?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Okay, so this is I do not want to make
it sound like what I do is anything like playing
NFL football or any pro sport, but it makes me
think of some of my personal experience. When I was
a writer at the Tribune again before You're Born, I
(19:55):
covered the Coyotes for one year, and I remember when
I got moved off of that after the one season,
which really had nothing to do with me. I had
to do with other personnel that we had, and it
put me on a path to cover this team. So
worked out swimmingly for me. But I remember thinking after
that first year, God, I want to get to that
second year because I know all these things now about
(20:18):
this team and how to cover it, that I can
put those into play. Same thing happened when I started
covering for the same newspaper as the Cardinals. I did
that first season and you're kind of finding your way around,
and I was so looking forward to the two thousand
and one season, which was my second full season covering
this team, because I now knew all the ins and outs,
I knew the cadence of the year, I knew what
(20:40):
kind of things I need to do. I knew guys
in the raw all this stuff, and your confidence just
automatically jumps because you have some experience. It's no different
than what these guys are doing. Now. Again, you have
to put in time. You have to if you're a player,
you have to get in the weight room, you have
to continue to study your playbook. It's not just automatic.
(21:01):
I do think, however, there is an automatic component to
the confidence level on a very basic concept of you've
been through it once already. Think about when you went
to Penn State. Unfortunately you went You went through one
year of college and then your second year are like, Okay,
(21:21):
I've got this. It's like the back of my hand.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Now can I can I do this to you right now?
College was COVID, So okay, it's automatic.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Okay, that was messed up. Okay, never mind, in that case,
I scrub all that, Cody.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I was just excited to get back to a campus
at that trate and get off of zoom.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
But anyway, so like there, there is going to be
this automatic confidence that's going to come with a Trey
Benson or a Darius Robinson or a Marvin Harrison junior
or all those guys. It's automatically going to get there.
And then if you put in extra work, it's just
going to jump. And so going back to your original question,
the confidence is absolute to be there. And I think
(22:01):
that's one of the things that helps this team is
you've chosen to use a lot of young players and
now you've built it to the point where they have
a little bit of experience, and it's not a ton
of experience, but it's enough that that part of it
shouldn't be that big of a problem.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
And I think you started to see that a little bit,
like a guy with a guy like Isaiah Adams at
that right guard spot, because in the very beginning, I'll
never forget Kyler Murray's press conference where he was talking
about Isaiah Adams celebrating and he was saying he's got
to relax a little bit. And I remember speaking with
Isaiah Adams towards the back end of the season. I
was doing a story on Asycardinals Dot com about players
(22:40):
in their first year and what they were able to learn,
and something Isaiah Adams said that really strugl with me
was after those celebrations, once that became a little bit old,
he realized just how much he actually belonged out there
on the field. It wasn't just yes, kids, these guys
are living their their dreams. This is something that when
they were kids they looked up to look forward to.
(23:01):
Now it's no longer jes I'm excited to be here.
Now it's I belong to be here. In the very beginning,
you're gonna have all these rookie duties, especially those offensive linemen.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And now the rookie duties are kind of put to
the side.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And in a room like that, you need to show
what you're able to bring to the table. And I
think a guy like Isaiah Adams is one of those players.
I'm most excited to make that year one to year
two jump, Darren, if you could pick a player from
that class outside of Marvin Harrison Junior and Darius Robinson,
and we already spoke a little bit about Trey Benson,
who are you most eager to see make that year
one to year two jump?
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Wait, from last year's class.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yes, into this coming year. So you just took I
took away Marvin Harrison junior Darius Robinson and Trey Benson,
who we just spent the first ten minutes talking about,
and Marvin Harrison junior Darius Robinson, who we spent the
offseason talking about.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Yeah, you know this is gonna be obvious, but I
think given the injury to Sean Murphy Bunting and where
they are in the secondary, it's got to be Max Melton.
I mean, first of all, it was a second around pick.
You're not taking a second round pick to be your
fourth cornerback, or you shouldn't be. And I thought he
had some good moments at the end of last season,
(24:11):
and I think there's opportunity there. You know, what happens
with Will Johnson, I think will be seen and I
do not think. I mean, I think Jonathan Gannon, more
so than maybe any head coach that I can remember
coaching this team in my long ten year covering him,
is willing to play younger players or rookies. But to me,
(24:35):
I'm going to be disappointed if Max Melton is not
in the starting lineup when the season starts.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
So if it was Will Johnson. Let's say in Starling Thomas,
you would be surprised by that.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
I'm not gonna say I'm going to be surprised, but
I think Max Melton needs to make a push, and
I think Max Meltin's that got a year in over
Will Johnson that at least to start the season, you
would hope that he's holding off Will Johnson. And to
the to the beginning, the Starling Thomas thing is really interesting.
And I know you and here are tight because you've
(25:07):
done a number of stories with him and he's a
great story. And whether he can hold off a couple
of second round picks, I think is going to be
one of the stories of camp because again, you drafted
Will Johnson in the second round, you drafted Max Mountain
in the second round. Now, Starling Thomas has started for
two years, but some of that was out of necessity,
(25:30):
and now can he does he have the skill set
to hold him off? I think Starling Thomas will continue
to be an important person on this roster because of
his experience and what he's brought to the table. But again,
the pedigree is such that that's what you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Of one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And when I think people discuss the Arizona Cardinals' cornerback room,
they're going to be looking at They were all before
Shaw Murphy Bunny's injury, they were deciding who were you
actually going to be able to keep because there's a
guy like Elijah Jones who now going into year number
two as well, even though it's gonna be his first
season out on the field, and you don't know what
you got in the third round in the third round pick,
So it's gonna be a very interesting process. Also very
(26:11):
interested to see what the Cardinals end up doing with
a guy like Xavier Weaver, a deep downfield threat. He
was only active for two games, although he was on
the fifty three man roster throughout the entire season in
twenty twenty four. If he was only active for those
two games, the game against Green Bay in the season
finale against the San Francisco forty nine ers in place
of Michael Wilson who had that shoulder injury, if I'm
(26:31):
not mistaken, only had one target in that game, but
he Drew Petsick said, Marvin Harrison Junior is absolutely could
still be used as that deep threat will actually end
up seeing because they do have two very fast guys
on the roster and Ques Watkins and Xavier Weavers.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
So you bring up Weaver. We didn't even mention Elijah Jones.
It was a third round pick last year that we
don't know. He's a complete mystery, you know. Again, they
they drafted a lot of guys, and all the guys
that they've drafted since Monti assin Fort showed up are
still around. So I'm guessing they're not all going to
be around by the time we get to this season
because this is where they built their roster too.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It was fascinating looking around at the OTA's field and
you got to see how many of Mantia austin Ford's
draft picks are actually out on the field. This is
a team that, yeah, you have to supplement over you know,
free agency, but also in the draft to just be
able to see.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
The guys that are out there. They were. They were
full of many Austin Fork guys.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
That's what you do when you're rebuilding a team. You know. Again,
we said earlier about how it's not often you get
a three year rebuild. Well that's why we're here, and
Manti austin Ford stripped this roster down to the studs
and rebuilt from scratch essentially, and it's it's a long process.
But now we're here and now we get to see
(27:45):
what that looks like. And you know, I'm fascinating. I am.
I am very curious to see what happens with the
schedule and with this team. A lot's going to land
on the quarterback. We'll get to that in another day.
But like it's, it's going to be, it's going to
be a year in the spotlight to see how this
turns out.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
So as we get to set to wrap this up,
let's bring it right back to the beginning, as every
good journalist tries to do.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
True or false? Do you have fun with you? On
the Cardinals cover two.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
I'm I know you're gonna clip this. I know you're
gonna make it a thing, but I'm not gonna lie
as far as you.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Know that's fair.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
I mean integrity with Darren Irban, I'm not fully sure,
just kidding. Darren Urban is great and I'm not just
saying that because he is my supervisor. Anyway that I'll
do it here on Cardinals cover two,
It's the duo you have all been waiting for.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, I'm sorry, it's not Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison
Junior jumping on the pod. That's right, it's Zach Gershman
and Darren Urban stepping in for today's Cardinals Cover two.
Speaking of duos, we spoke with James Connor earlier in
the week. Darren and I discussed the one two punch
of Connor and Trey Benson. We also talk about some
of the other players entering year two and continue breaking
(00:29):
down OT eight. It's Cardinals Cover two, episode eight hundred
and eighty eight. That's right, triple eights and it starts now.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
P to Baker, What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of
the Arizona Cardinals and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals
dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
He's ad the ten half of five pays it again?
More hurry magic?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Whoa here?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Zach gersh Man. All right, Darren, so let's have some
fun here. Let's start off with the true.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Or well, I don't know if we're going to if
you're here, but go ahead.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I'm gonna at least try to. I'm thinking the same
thing about you. I'm so okay, we're just everybody deep breath.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Then I'm fine. Now you know I got my coffee.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
See I didn't get my coffee and you got Starbucks.
That's wrong. Well you'm gonna get.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Your coffee because you probably didn't get out of your
apartment fast enough to get here. On timing, coffee.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Drove into the building five minutes before the show started. Anyway,
we're here, So let's start off with the true or false? Yes,
true or false? Darren, have you ever had a moment
where you've been scrolling through whether it's YouTube, Instagram, Twitter x,
where the algorithm was so accurate and so targeted that
it got to the point where you were kind of
a little bit scared about it.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I don't know if I've ever actually been scrolling through
social media. Now, I have been had a few targeted
ads in my social media days, whatever platform it is,
where I'm like, wait a minute, I've never talked. I
was just talking to my wife about this product that
I had never brought up in my life, and now
all of a sudden it's showing up on my algorithm.
That's a little troubling, but yeah, I mean there have
(02:17):
been times, but I like, for me social media at
this point when it's coming up, it's like, Okay, I
kind of understand why it's doing this now.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I'm the type of person that can have a
little bit of a nervous laugh at points when I
see something me I know, surprising, but I have a
little bit of like a nervous chuckle. And was sitting
in the office on Thursday, I had that moment and
you were sitting right next to me. Yes, as I
start the chuckle, and then I hear over the monitors,
what's so funny, Zach?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And it's not.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Because I was preparing the run down here for Cardinals
Cover two presented by Hundai. Instead, I'll scrolling through YouTube
where I find a lot of information, and I came
across a song by a guy named DJ Clarence. He
has one subscrib in this video. It was a song
about Clayton tune and a jersey that he ordered that
(03:06):
was stuck in the male part in the postal offices
and he wasn't able to get his Clayton Tune jersey
for game day. So you heard me kind of chuckled.
I'm listening to this and I'm like, this is how
does this video which has six views so targeted? How
did it find us?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
But it did? And it was a catchy song too,
I said it was catchy?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Who sent it to me? I don't know if I've
ever quite heard as specific of a song as essentially,
I ordered a Clayton Tune jersey and I haven't gotten
it yet, and now I'm at a game and I
don't have my jersey and I feel left out. That's
essentially what the song was.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
It was, and the cover photo.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I guess he does end up getting the jersey because
he's wearing the Claytonton jersey on the Great Lawn right
outside State Farm Stadium.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
There's a lot of questions that come with that.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
There are so many questions. I think he's probably asking,
how did our views triple from six views to now eighteen?
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Well, one of the reasons is because we put the
link in our years.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
But he's probably wondering this just happened. But anyway, let's
please check it out. Everyone, come correct, go first, check
out eighteen bars and eight to Z Senior I just
got that song rock but yeah, tell me there.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
The if you it's the song about not receiving a
Clayton Tune jersey in the mail after you ordered it
that you never knew.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
You needed exactly. And let's talk.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We're gonna talk about OTAs James Connor, Trey Benson in
a handful of other players. Clayton Tune is one of
those guys that are going into year number three. And
before we get into the running backs, what you you
brought up something to Drew Petsing about the quarterbacks, Jacoby
Brissett coming in, how Clayton Tune handles everything, And Drew
Petson kind of framed it to what it was last
year with Desmond Ritter coming in. What do you think
(04:50):
a guy like Clayton Tune is starting to think now
that he's going through a thirty year of OTAs well?
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's finny, So I asked Drew Petsing, you know, what
do you tell a player like Clayton Tune when you
sign up guy like Jacoby Brissette. Now, as you said,
Petsing said, look, it's no different than last year when
we brought in Desmond Ridder. Now they traded for Desmond Ridder.
I would say this at the time, I think there
is a parallel, But the reality is Jacoby Brissette has
(05:15):
a better resume than Desmond Ridder did. And I still
think when when you brought in Desmond Ridder, I think
the assumption was that Clayton Tune was gonna be the
third guy, and he ended up beating out Desmond Ridder.
So I suppose it still could happen, but I think
they really like what Jacoby Brissett is bringing to the table.
And when you start doing the numbers, even here in
(05:37):
very very late May, of what the roster is going
to look like, I don't see any possible way how
you carry three quarterbacks and the fifty three main rosters.
So that said, it is going to be a battle.
What happens with Clayton Tune. We will see. You know,
they're gonna have to have somebody on the practice squad
if they only carry two quarterbacks. Whether that's Clayton Tune,
I don't know. It's not gonna be Kobe Brissette. I
(05:57):
would think he would end up somewhere if they decided
to go with Clayton Tune. So I think it's a
fascinating thing. But again, if you're Clayton Tune or any
other player, it's a year to your business. And yeah,
there's some guys who you can pencil in that are
going to be on the team, and I get that,
but Clayton Tune's one of those guys who's going to
be fighting for his job every year, and that's where
he is.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
It's interesting because when we were out there on the
field during OTAs, and we'll break down the practices a
little bit, it was so the quarterbacks are kind of
standing off to the side and you could clearly see
how much bigger Jacobe Prissette is compared to both other guys.
He just is one of those guys that has the
frame that I thought was pretty was pretty interesting to see.
And also he has that familiarity. Johnthgannon even joked and said,
(06:39):
I sometimes have to remind myself that I was on
a coaching staff with Jacoby Brussette too, so he has
familiarity with Drew Petsing And I think Clayton Tune has
had a very mature approach to it. Maybe it's because
he's listened to the song along the way. I'm not
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
I would say a final thought on that. For me, again,
I think Clayton too. Every player needs to have a
certain amount of self awareness. It doesn't mean he can't
win a job, it doesn't mean he can't beat out
Jacoby Brissett. But the reality is, as we sit here
in whatever May thirty thirty first, if Kyler Murray were
(07:13):
to get injured at this point, you're probably going to
be more comfortable with Jacoby Brissett standing in for two
or three starts than Clayton tune. That doesn't mean it
can't change, It doesn't mean but we've seen it from Jacoby.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Presett one eight hundred twenty six passing yards last year
with the New England Patriots, when he was with Drew
Petsing in Cleveland in twenty twenty two over twenty six
hundred passing yards, twelve touchdowns and eleven starts. So he
definitely has the experience in Drew Petsings system.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Big guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Let's talk about another big guy who came right into
the press conference room right after a workout drenched in sweat.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
James Conner.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
He needed to take a moment to catch his breath
in I saw somebody in the comment section i one
of the videos saying that he looks like he's about
a cry. No, that is just straight sweat from James Connor.
He lives in that weight room. It was nice to
get a chance to sit down with James and talk
with him. Darren any early impressions from what the blueprint
of the Cardinals offense had to say.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
I mean again, we're talking about a guy who is
the bellcal of this offense. He's the emotional leader. He
is the way they've built this offense, the the engine
that makes it go. They want to run the ball,
and he's the number one running back. So look, I've
always been a big fan of James Connor. I think
(08:30):
he's gotten He's had his best years since he came
to Arizona. When you look at running backs and they
hit age thirty, which he has now done. The fact
that he seems to be getting better as he gets
older is crazy. And he lives the life and there
is nothing I don't like about it. I said this
a couple of years ago when Jonathan Gannon showed up.
(08:51):
You know, James Connor at every reason to not say
a bunch of great things, not to say bad things,
but just to like be waiting see. And James Connor
was bought in from Jump, And I thought about this
when he was talking. When you get a guy like
James Connor, when a new coach comes in, you tend
(09:13):
to want to make a lot of changes. You want
to get your guys. Any boss wants to do that,
the fact that you can find one of your guys
who's already here, which I think James Connor is that guy.
And Buddha Baker too to a lesser extent. Now the
Buddha Baker thing got was a little awkward for a
little while because of the contract. But James Connor is
(09:33):
a guy that Jonathan Gannon could lean on right away
because A he plays the style of football that Jonathan
Gannon wants to play and b he was bought in
from Jump. He's everything you want in the locker room.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
He is one of those players. And you wrote it
when you were writing the article about kayzer White and
the Cardinals Moving on, you mentioned how Kayzier was an
integral part of Jonathan Gannon's arrival in changing the culture
and the way that it shifted to where it currently
is at present day. James Conner is another one of
those players, Buddah Baker. Those are the type of guys
even DJ Humphries when he was here at a guy
(10:06):
like Paris Johnson Junior. These are the players that you
needed to have the confidence for them to step up
and to speak up. And James Connor, while he is
often pretty silent, he is one of those players. But
you mentioned his you mentioned his age, and it's fascinating
because twenty eight has one thousand and forty rushing yards
and he says that that's now the floor, and you're
sorry to say to yourself, Okay, it's the first time
(10:28):
he's ever cracked one thousand. He's on the verge of thirty.
How is he going to be able to do it?
Does it again? One ninety four yards a nine total
touching rush, nine total touchdowns, eight rushing last year in
twenty twenty four. Is it fair to assume that this
guy is not slowing down anytime soon?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I mean, he hasn't given you any reason. I mean,
we'll see what happens some athletes, and I'm not just
talking about running back there there can be a quick dropoff.
I don't see it right now, and it's funny as
we sit here, Zach, you're somebody who could actually and
you better not, but you could look at a thirty
(11:06):
year old and going, yeah, he's getting up there because
of your age, which is what twelve.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Three, twenty three enough, we're not math guys.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
I would give anything to be well, and I see,
I don't. I don't want to say that I wouldn't
give anything to be thirty again, because there's there's there's
wisdom in these years, and there there's benefits from getting
a little bit older. But thirty. I it's been a
long time since I saw thirty, So it's it's always
weird to talk about an athlete getting older at thirty,
(11:34):
and I'm like, whatever, I if he's going to have
a drop off, I would be surprised if it's this year.
But again, that's why you bring in a guy like
Trey Benson, and that's why you try and meshit, and
that's why you try and get to a place where
you have a couple guys that can do the job.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
In five years when I'm twenty eight, I will ask
you for all the wisdom that thirty well that I
will need from when I When you're.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Working for WIP back in Philly.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
That is the hometown station who was actually having the
Flyers head coach in the studio, which is so rare.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
They're buying back into Philadelphia Flyers.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
What the hell just happened?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You brought me, you brought me back. Anyway, let's let's
bring it, let's reil it back in here, because you
know you're applying the pressure to me, and I understand
you know where you're coming from with things. James Connor said,
the pressure is always forever present, and he said you're
either dealing with it. You're either feeling it or you're
applying it. And he said, right now, we're applying it
and we're enjoying it. The Cardinals in a lot of ways,
(12:33):
I understand that people are in the national media landscape
are talking about the Rams and the forty nine ers
being in the driver's seat of the NFCU wes, can
you also get that sense that the Cardinals, though, feel
like they're in that same seat too, that it really
is on them because of leaders like James Connor saying
why not now with this talented roster.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
So I'm going to say this about winning and where
they are. One, Yes, there are expectations. You're in the
third year with Annie Austin for Jonathan Gannon. You this
is not a league set up for five year rebuilds.
And you can look at last year and say, I
mean they were in a position to make a run.
(13:12):
Last year, they didn't do it. They kind of dissolved
after the bye, but they were in a position last
year to do it. So yeah, there there should be expectations,
there should be pressure. I've also said this, like when
you talk about do they feel like they're in the
driver's seat, Look, it's it's about them. It's always about them.
I understand other teams are are part of the equation
(13:34):
and whether they're good and and all those things, but
I was asked these questions when the schedule first came out,
and you know, what do you think they're gonna do
in those first few games? What I'm like, are they good?
If the Cardinals are good, then they're the record overall
is gonna be just fine, and they're gonna push for
a playoff spot. You know, if they're not good enough,
(13:56):
then they're not gonna be good. And I don't think it.
To me, it doesn't have as much to do with
where the forty nine ers are where the Rams are?
Is this team good enough? Like last year, like the
Packers were a good team and they made the playoffs.
Were they good enough to win the division? No, they
finished third in their division, but they were a pretty
(14:17):
dang good team. Like again, I struggle sometimes with measuring
who is in the quote unquote driver's seat for a
division per se, because if you're good enough, you're gonna
make a playoff push, whether the other teams are good
or not.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
And of course it's always about still building from within
your own roster and developing those guys. And Trey Benson,
who is behind James Connor on the depth chart, even
though a lot of people have been asking when is
Trey Benson going to go buy James Connor? When is
he going to become that RB one. In today's NFL,
there's so many one to two duos in the backfield.
(14:56):
You think about what the Detroit Lions have with Jamior
Gibbs and David Montgomery, and I think the Cardinals showcased
a little bit of that towards the back end of
the season with Trey Benson receiving a little bit more reps.
So they always talk about that year one to year
two jump for a lot of these rookies going into
their second year. But just how much of a jumpkin
Trey Benson actually make because James Connor is still ahead
(15:17):
of him on the depth chart.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
Well, I think he can make a substantial jump even
behind Connor, because I think this is what the Cardinals
are going to lean into now. The question is is
the comfort level on Trey Benson doing things besides carrying
the football? I think there. I think he needed to
(15:42):
He needs to improve his pass protection, you know. And
and as a pass catcher, is he as good as
James Connor right now? And or you know, how is
that going to work out? It's funny we saw Jonathan
Gannon the question was asked, you at Connor's age this
time of year, do you back off, you know, giving
(16:05):
him reps because he's older? Why would you burn him
out in in May? And JG made the joke all
you know, if I bring that up to him, he's
gonna punch me in the face whatever. And then then
he comes in all sweaty and all that thing. But
if that's the case in May, what do you think
the case is gonna be look like? In a game situation,
(16:26):
Connor wants those snaps. There's a couple things in play here. One,
If Benson's playing really well, I do believe they'll ride
the hot hand a little bit, give Connor a little
bit of a rest. If Benson's really kicking butt, I
think they'll leave him out here. The other thing, too,
is this offense needs to have more consistency period. If
it has more consistency period, there's gonna be more snaps.
(16:48):
And if there's more snaps, then Trey Benson gets more
work in addition to running with James Connor, and I
think they'd love that.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
In thirteen games, Trey Benson had sixty three carries, sixteen
of those when for our first down, and he said,
when he was sitting in this seat on Burns and
Gamba earlier in the week, how it was really the
game against the Even though we scored his first touchdown
against the Chicago Bears in week nine, it was the
week ten matchup against the New York Jets where it
started to click for him that he actually could stand
(17:17):
in the NFL, and not just stand in the NFL,
but exceed. He said he was bouncing off a couple
of tackles, and he was saying, all right, these big
dogs are really all that big. I am able to
handle it, bounce off the tackles, because in the beginning
those first few weeks, he kept going very laterally sidelines
to sideline and was not going upfield. Towards the back
end of the season, we saw Trey Benson start to
(17:37):
have that acceleration in that burst that we saw at
Florida State.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
It's something that all runners in the NFL have to
figure out. I've watched it for twenty five years. To
a lesser extent, it reminded me of Kyler Murray's rookie
season where he would scramble and he would he would
think when he was in trouble, he could just sprint
outside and he'd get the edge even against a outside line.
And what he realizes, Oh, on this level, the outside
(18:03):
linebackers who weighed two hundred and fifty pounds or two
hundred and forty pounds are still fast enough to get
the you know, to cut me off. Benson kept thinking
he could bounce it outside and get the edge like
he was doing in college, and you cannot do that.
It felt like James Connor rubbed off on Trey Benson.
As the season was going on, he started running a
(18:23):
lot more Connor esque and I think he's built that
he could do that. And yeah, the spray and the
bad sprain ankle was really disappointment because he really looked
like he was kind of coming into his own When
he got hurt late in the season, Benson.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And when James got injured as well, you weren't able
to see what Trey Benson was able to do as
that RB one because James was because he was already
sidelined at that point. But something he also said when
he was sitting here was just about his confidence. He
was talking about that and he said, year or two
coming around, I feel like good things are about to happen.
I'm walking like I already feel like I have it
(18:59):
that this is going to.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Be a year.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Darren, You've been covering the league since before I was
even born.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
While there it is, I was happy to clipping that
Cody had to wait.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And so you have seen players throughout their maturation process
in the NFL, from some of the guys who have
only been in the league for a year to guys
like Fits who have been doing the guys like Kalay's
Campbell's now going to his eighteenth season. How much can
that confidence actually help a player going into year number two?
Cause we're about to talk about players that are making
(19:30):
that year one to year two jump. How much will
that confidence actually help some of these guys?
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Okay, so this is I do not want to make
it sound like what I do is anything like playing
NFL football or any pro sport, but it makes me
think of some of my personal experience. When I was
a writer at the Tribune again before You're Born, I
(19:55):
covered the Coyotes for one year, and I remember when
I got moved off of that after the one season,
which really had nothing to do with me. I had
to do with other personnel that we had, and it
put me on a path to cover this team. So
worked out swimmingly for me. But I remember thinking after
that first year, God, I want to get to that
second year because I know all these things now about
(20:18):
this team and how to cover it, that I can
put those into play. Same thing happened when I started
covering for the same newspaper as the Cardinals. I did
that first season and you're kind of finding your way around,
and I was so looking forward to the two thousand
and one season, which was my second full season covering
this team, because I now knew all the ins and outs,
I knew the cadence of the year, I knew what
(20:40):
kind of things I need to do. I knew guys
in the raw all this stuff, and your confidence just
automatically jumps because you have some experience. It's no different
than what these guys are doing. Now. Again, you have
to put in time. You have to if you're a player,
you have to get in the weight room, you have
to continue to study your playbook. It's not just automatic.
(21:01):
I do think, however, there is an automatic component to
the confidence level on a very basic concept of you've
been through it once already. Think about when you went
to Penn State. Unfortunately you went You went through one
year of college and then your second year are like, Okay,
(21:21):
I've got this. It's like the back of my hand.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Now can I can I do this to you right now?
College was COVID, So okay, it's automatic.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
Okay, that was messed up. Okay, never mind, in that case,
I scrub all that, Cody.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I was just excited to get back to a campus
at that trate and get off of zoom.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
But anyway, so like there, there is going to be
this automatic confidence that's going to come with a Trey
Benson or a Darius Robinson or a Marvin Harrison junior
or all those guys. It's automatically going to get there.
And then if you put in extra work, it's just
going to jump. And so going back to your original question,
the confidence is absolute to be there. And I think
(22:01):
that's one of the things that helps this team is
you've chosen to use a lot of young players and
now you've built it to the point where they have
a little bit of experience, and it's not a ton
of experience, but it's enough that that part of it
shouldn't be that big of a problem.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
And I think you started to see that a little bit,
like a guy with a guy like Isaiah Adams at
that right guard spot, because in the very beginning, I'll
never forget Kyler Murray's press conference where he was talking
about Isaiah Adams celebrating and he was saying he's got
to relax a little bit. And I remember speaking with
Isaiah Adams towards the back end of the season. I
was doing a story on Asycardinals Dot com about players
(22:40):
in their first year and what they were able to learn,
and something Isaiah Adams said that really strugl with me
was after those celebrations, once that became a little bit old,
he realized just how much he actually belonged out there
on the field. It wasn't just yes, kids, these guys
are living their their dreams. This is something that when
they were kids they looked up to look forward to.
(23:01):
Now it's no longer jes I'm excited to be here.
Now it's I belong to be here. In the very beginning,
you're gonna have all these rookie duties, especially those offensive linemen.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And now the rookie duties are kind of put to
the side.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And in a room like that, you need to show
what you're able to bring to the table. And I
think a guy like Isaiah Adams is one of those players.
I'm most excited to make that year one to year
two jump, Darren, if you could pick a player from
that class outside of Marvin Harrison Junior and Darius Robinson,
and we already spoke a little bit about Trey Benson,
who are you most eager to see make that year
one to year two jump?
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Wait, from last year's class.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yes, into this coming year. So you just took I
took away Marvin Harrison junior Darius Robinson and Trey Benson,
who we just spent the first ten minutes talking about,
and Marvin Harrison junior Darius Robinson, who we spent the
offseason talking about.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Yeah, you know this is gonna be obvious, but I
think given the injury to Sean Murphy Bunting and where
they are in the secondary, it's got to be Max Melton.
I mean, first of all, it was a second around pick.
You're not taking a second round pick to be your
fourth cornerback, or you shouldn't be. And I thought he
had some good moments at the end of last season,
(24:11):
and I think there's opportunity there. You know, what happens
with Will Johnson, I think will be seen and I
do not think. I mean, I think Jonathan Gannon, more
so than maybe any head coach that I can remember
coaching this team in my long ten year covering him,
is willing to play younger players or rookies. But to me,
(24:35):
I'm going to be disappointed if Max Melton is not
in the starting lineup when the season starts.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
So if it was Will Johnson. Let's say in Starling Thomas,
you would be surprised by that.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
I'm not gonna say I'm going to be surprised, but
I think Max Melton needs to make a push, and
I think Max Meltin's that got a year in over
Will Johnson that at least to start the season, you
would hope that he's holding off Will Johnson. And to
the to the beginning, the Starling Thomas thing is really interesting.
And I know you and here are tight because you've
(25:07):
done a number of stories with him and he's a
great story. And whether he can hold off a couple
of second round picks, I think is going to be
one of the stories of camp because again, you drafted
Will Johnson in the second round, you drafted Max Mountain
in the second round. Now, Starling Thomas has started for
two years, but some of that was out of necessity,
(25:30):
and now can he does he have the skill set
to hold him off? I think Starling Thomas will continue
to be an important person on this roster because of
his experience and what he's brought to the table. But again,
the pedigree is such that that's what you're looking for.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Of one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
And when I think people discuss the Arizona Cardinals' cornerback room,
they're going to be looking at They were all before
Shaw Murphy Bunny's injury, they were deciding who were you
actually going to be able to keep because there's a
guy like Elijah Jones who now going into year number
two as well, even though it's gonna be his first
season out on the field, and you don't know what
you got in the third round in the third round pick,
So it's gonna be a very interesting process. Also very
(26:11):
interested to see what the Cardinals end up doing with
a guy like Xavier Weaver, a deep downfield threat. He
was only active for two games, although he was on
the fifty three man roster throughout the entire season in
twenty twenty four. If he was only active for those
two games, the game against Green Bay in the season
finale against the San Francisco forty nine ers in place
of Michael Wilson who had that shoulder injury, if I'm
(26:31):
not mistaken, only had one target in that game, but
he Drew Petsick said, Marvin Harrison Junior is absolutely could
still be used as that deep threat will actually end
up seeing because they do have two very fast guys
on the roster and Ques Watkins and Xavier Weavers.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
So you bring up Weaver. We didn't even mention Elijah Jones.
It was a third round pick last year that we
don't know. He's a complete mystery, you know. Again, they
they drafted a lot of guys, and all the guys
that they've drafted since Monti assin Fort showed up are
still around. So I'm guessing they're not all going to
be around by the time we get to this season
because this is where they built their roster too.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It was fascinating looking around at the OTA's field and
you got to see how many of Mantia austin Ford's
draft picks are actually out on the field. This is
a team that, yeah, you have to supplement over you know,
free agency, but also in the draft to just be
able to see.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
The guys that are out there. They were. They were
full of many Austin Fork guys.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
That's what you do when you're rebuilding a team. You know. Again,
we said earlier about how it's not often you get
a three year rebuild. Well that's why we're here, and
Manti austin Ford stripped this roster down to the studs
and rebuilt from scratch essentially, and it's it's a long process.
But now we're here and now we get to see
(27:45):
what that looks like. And you know, I'm fascinating. I am.
I am very curious to see what happens with the
schedule and with this team. A lot's going to land
on the quarterback. We'll get to that in another day.
But like it's, it's going to be, it's going to
be a year in the spotlight to see how this
turns out.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
So as we get to set to wrap this up,
let's bring it right back to the beginning, as every
good journalist tries to do.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
True or false? Do you have fun with you? On
the Cardinals cover two.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
I'm I know you're gonna clip this. I know you're
gonna make it a thing, but I'm not gonna lie
as far as you.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Know that's fair.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
I mean integrity with Darren Irban, I'm not fully sure,
just kidding. Darren Urban is great and I'm not just
saying that because he is my supervisor. Anyway that I'll
do it here on Cardinals cover two,
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.