The Arizona Cardinals ' secondary is set to gain some key veterans back in 2026, though their young cornerback room and the potential within it might be the defense's x factor entering the year.
With Garrett Williams set to miss the initial part of the regular season while recovering from his Achilles injury, second-year cornerbacks such as Will Johnson and Denzel Burke figure to be key pieces once again after both featured prominently last season.
"Everybody's competing right now. We don't need to define anything. I talked to the players about that. We go through phases of roles, and right now we're in a competing phase. We'll eventually get to the point where we define them, and that changes every week. But it's really good competition there," Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said.
"That's a great problem to have. What I'm seeing from those guys though is we're getting into a lot of, year two, year three, year four with a lot of those guys, and I'm seeing growth, I'm seeing a different comfort level right now from a technique perspective, communication, so I've been very pleased to see how those guys have improved their game this spring."
While Sean Murphy-Bunting is making the move to nickel corner, the Cardinals' prior duo of Johnson/Burke figure to be heavily in the mix of starting reps with training camp around the corner.
Johnson fell to the second round due to injury concerns last offseason, and though turnover production wasn't quite there, he still flashed plenty of the ball skills and length that made him a first-round talent.
"It's no different than everyone. You want everyone to be able to play a balanced game. So there's things that he needs to improve in the run game, there's things he needs to improve in coverage, and he's making strides towards that," Rallis said of Johnson.
"I know Will wants his hands on that football, because that's what he does really well. He can take the ball away. Just like everybody, there's things that as long as he keeps improving his game, he's going to become a better player."
Burke, meanwhile, was a fifth-round pick in the same draft. While the hype didn't quite follow the OSU product compared to Johnson, his college experience paid off in the transition to the pros.
"Wherever a guy gets drafted [doesn't matter]. I knew the player we were getting from the tape, but also being in the 30 visit, and then a week or two in, you could see that this guy is very mature and ready to be a pro," Rallis said of Burke.
"You start four years at Ohio State, you're probably at that stage, so no surprise. But always trying to find ways to help him grow as a player."
After not upgrading their pass rush this offseason, Arizona 's banking on their secondary to take the next step in 2026. If young bucks such as Johnson and Burke are able to do so, the team might just be in business.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi as Arizona Cardinals Need Young Cornerbacks to Deliver .
