When the Arizona Cardinals drafted receiver Michael Floyd in the first round of the draft, he was labeled by many as a plug-and-play starter opposite Larry Fitzgerald.
Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official website sees things in a different light. In cooking up his early-look depth chart this week, Urban listed third-year wideout Andre Roberts ahead of Floyd.
"I think Michael Floyd will play an important role for this team, and Early Doucet will play," Urban said. "But if you don't know by now the level of confidence the coaching staff has in Roberts with his play after last season, you haven't been paying attention."
It's a mistake to discount how Arizona coveted Roberts' quickness coming out of The Citadel. He was productive, too, with 51 catches last season. There was chatter that Kolb and Roberts didn't click, but that should improve after a full offseason together.
Back to Floyd. Our in-house draft guru Chad Reuter walked in the door a few minutes ago, and we had a conversation about the challenges faced by rookie receivers.
"It's no surprise Roberts would be given the nod over a rookie -- even a talented first round pick like Floyd -- at this point of the offseason," Reuter said. "Rookie receivers face a big learning curve because of the complexity of NFL offenses and more physical and savvy play of veteran cornerbacks. Floyd does have superior size and physicality to Roberts, so if he shows enough playmaking ability in training camp and the preseason, he'll win the starting job."
Depth charts don't tell the entire story. Arizona finally has a dangerous trio of wideouts they're excited about. Ken Whisenhunt and his staff will scheme to use all three in order to free up Fitzgerald. His play remains the key to this team's success.
