Even without Ryan Williams Cardinals rookies expected to have impact
Aug 23, 2011, 11:27 PM | Updated: Aug 24, 2011, 12:34 am
The Arizona Cardinals may have lost running back Ryan Williams for the year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rookies on the roster who fans should be excited about this season. In fact, Ken Whisnhunt is pretty enthusiastic about the team’s entire draft class and what he’s seen from them.
“I’ve been very pleased with our rookie draft class,” Whisenhunt told reporters in Flagstaff Tuesday. “It was unfortunate to see Ryan get injured last week because I think he was going to be one of the real standouts from this class. I’ve been very excited that everyone of the guys we’ve drafted looks to me like they’ve got a chance to be a very good guy in this league. They’ve all, at one point or another, made plays during this camp. Actually, they’ve all done pretty well in the preseason games which is unusual. Usually your draft picks, there are a couple that really struggle and that hasn’t been the case.”
While Williams was the one making headlines for how well he was running at camp, names like Patrick Peterson, DeMarco Sampson, Rob Housler and Sam Acho have all impressed as well.
If camp and the preseason are any indication, the team will likely rely on many of their rookies to contribute this year. Peterson is expected to be one of the team’s starting cornerbacks and a key part of their return game while Acho has already taken reps at linebacker with the first team in place of Joey Porter. While guys like Sampson, Housler and Quan Sturdivant likely won’t start, they’re all expected to have an impact in various roles.
