The Arizona Cardinals, ever since the days of Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith, have been known for being a team with great players at the position. Under head coach Kliff Kingsbury, they are not a big part of the passing game. Four tight ends combined for 40 catches in 2019, out of 355 catches for the entire team.
However, Kingsbury really likes the talent he has at the position and believes there is a lot of potential.
“I like the room. I think there’s huge upside there,” he told reporters in a video call last week.
The leader of the group is Maxx Williams, who had 15 catches and one touchdown, but Kingsbury has had nothing but praise for him.
“Maxx has been ‘Steady Eddie’ for us; (he) can do it all,” Kingsbury said. “We loved what we saw from him last year, bringing leadership and juice to the field.”
Kingsbury also likes what Williams does for the rest of the room, who are all young players — Dan Arnold, Darrell Daniels, Dylan Cantrell and undrafted rookie Ryan Becker. “He’s been a great mentor,” Kingsbury added.
After six catches and two touchdowns in the team’s final three games of 2019, Arnold is getting attention as a potential breakout player. Kingsbury likes the potential.
“Dan is a guy who’s ascending as a player, we feel like,” he said. “(He) has a great skillset, has a great guy to learn from in Maxx in that room.”
He feels the same way about Daniels, who played mostly in special teams but gives the Cardinals speed and length. Daniels, like Arnold, is a former receiver, although he transitioned to tight end early in his college career at Washington.
“They’re both athletic guys, can really run and stretch the field and are young players that we feel like have big upside, along with Dylan Cantrell,” he said.
Now, expecting big numbers in terms of receptions might lead to disappointment, especially when targets should go primarily to receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, but players like Arnold and Daniels can be big contributors in limited roles.
They might not have a prominent role in the offense, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be important.
The fact the Cardinals made no attempt to add another experienced player to the room in the offseason shows they are comfortable with who they have, considering the role they will have.
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