In this edition of Examining The Roster, I will be looking at the Cardinals deepest position in terms of talent; wide receiver. The unit is expected to be one of the best and deepest in the entire league, but questions remain. Can Steve Breaston replace Anquan Boldin’s production? Will Early Doucet finally step up and be an effective number three guy? How good is Andre Roberts? I will try to answer all of these questions.

Larry Fitzgerald: There isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been said about this guy. Plain and simple, he is one of the best, if not the best receiver in the game today. Fitz has a great blend of speed and size, which makes him nearly impossible to play one-on-one. Not to mention, he has great hands and a work ethic that isn’t matched. He has been back in home state of Minnesota working out with several teammates including Kerry Rhodes and other players throughout the league and we are still three weeks out from the start of training camp. That tells you a little bit about his commitment to the organization and having a successful season. Some are worried that the departure of Kurt Warner are going to hurt Fitzgerald’s numbers, but I just don’t see it. Great receivers usually put up their numbers no matter who is their QB and it isn’t like Matt Leinart is A.J. Feeley. Expect another big year from this fan favorite and suddenly the leader of the offense.

Steve Breaston: After having a brilliant second season, Breaston struggled a bit last year. He had 22 less catches and nearly 300 less receiving yards last season than he did back in 2008. Of course injuries had a lot to do with his down numbers. He missed two games against San Francisco and St. Louis and had three games where he had only one catch, so injuries obviously had a big part on his year. With Boldin gone, Breaston is slated to get more looks this year as the number two guy behind Fitz. It looks as though the team is even set to remove him as the main punt returner so he can put his full attention to his receiving duties. One of the biggest reasons why people are so excited about Breaston for the upcoming season is that he is in a contract year. He wants to prove that he is a quality number two guy in order to get a long-term deal to give himself more financial stability. Historically guys that are in contract years tend to have big time years. If that is going to be the case with Breaston, this offense is going to be scary good and could set some records.

Early Doucet: Doucet has been buried on the depth chart for his first two seasons in the league, but it looks as though he is going to finally get significant playing time on the upcoming year. With having two years already in the system, he has a major leg up on the guys behind him on the depth chart. The former LSU product started to show some signs of being a player in the the second half last season when he had four catches against the Bears in Week Nine and four in mop up action against the Packers to close out the year. He hadn’t played in a single game up to the Bears contest. Doucet doesn’t have great speed or exceptional athleticism, but he has good hands and works really well in traffic, something that this team could really miss with Boldin gone. It is hard to count how many times he came up with big catches over the middle of the field in his time in a Cardinals uniform. When you see Doucet practice, his body type actually reminds you a lot of Q. He isn’t tall, but he is as strong as a bull. Here is hoping that he turns out as well as Q did.

Andre Roberts: At some point the Cardinals were going to draft a receiver with Boldin gone to Baltimore. It was just a matter of when and who it was going to be. Most scouts agreed that the Cards got a steal in drafting Roberts in the third round. Roberts was as productive as they come at the Citadel. He had 78, 95 and 77 catches his final three years in college and to go along with 31 touchdowns. His athleticism and his ability to read defenses are his two biggest strengths. He ran a 4.46 40 at the combine and did well in his other workouts. Even though it may take Roberts a few years to become a big time threat at receiver because he has a bit of a learning curve due to not playing top level talent throughout most of his collegiate career, he is already one of the main favorites to return punts. He did a good job of it in college and has been doing it through off-season workouts. That should be the biggest impact that he will make in his rookie season in the coming year and could make some noise at receiver if Doucet disappoints or if an injury occurs ahead of him on the depth chart.
Onrea Jones: An undrafted rookie out of Hampton, Jones has yet to have see the field since he entered the league back in 2007. Jones has been a member of the Chargers, Packers, Colts, and Redskins. He has decent size and speed, but he doesn’t do anything above average. He could play the role that Jerheme Urban has played the last couple of seasons. Urban left in free agency to go to Kansas City. Jones will need to have a good camp and a good pre-season in order to make the Week One roster.
Ed Gant: What a shame on this guy. The team was high on him up to the point where the NFL suspended him for the first four regular season games for violating the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances. Gant can still practice and play in the preseason games, but because of his suspension and the sudden emergence of Jones, it is hard to imagine him not getting cut sometime soon.
Deryn Bowser: A LA boy, Bowser went undrafted during the draft in April. Standing at 6′1″ and weighing 210 pounds, Bowser is a possession guy. He had nine touchdowns in his two years at Akron while he only played six games during his senior season. Bowser is going to have to really impress the coaching staff to even have a shot at a roster spot. He will more than likely stay on with the practice squad.
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Tags: A.J. Feeley, Andre Roberts, Anquan Boldin, Deryn Bowser, Early Doucet, Ed Gant, Jerheme Urban, Kerry Rhodes, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Leinart, Onrea Jones, Steve Breaston