Varying skillsets in Arizona Cardinals WRs room give Drew Petzing options

TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals wide receivers room was among the biggest positional revamps for the franchise this offseason.

There are more mouths to feed entering Year 2 under the new regime, with No. 4 overall pick and projected No. 1 option Marvin Harrison Jr. headlining a restoration project that includes returners Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch alongside veteran newcomer Zay Jones.

Each of them brings something different to the table, from Harrison’s downfield abilities to Dortch’s shiftiness out of the slot.

And that’s without mentioning third-year pro tight end Trey McBride, who is poised to see his fair share of targets following a breakout 2023 campaign.

It’s a good problem for offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and quarterback Kyler Murray to have.

“We’re going to petition the league for two footballs at all times,” Petzing said of the wide receivers room of Tuesday. “It’s a variety of skillsets. It’s guys who do things well, so it allows us to be multiple and allows us to attack defenses in different ways.

“You never know exactly week to week where the weakness is or where you’re going to need to exploit. If you have everybody doing one thing really well and that’s not the matchup that week, it’s hard to adjust. I think that’s certainly going to be part of who we are and certainly a part of who we always want to be in all facets.”

As for any potential hurt feelings over target shares or snaps, Petzing doesn’t envision that being a detrimental factor to the overall cohesiveness of the unit. The diva meter within Arizona’s WRs room appears to be at a low. The bond being formed between Harrison and Wilson is a good example of that.

It’s a nod to the mentality general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon seek out and demand from their players of all skill levels.

“The focus is always going to be on winning. That’s never going to change,” Petzing said. “If that’s your No. 1 goal that at the end of the day we’re winning and we’re doing the things to put ourselves in positions, guys are going to be happy they’re here and happy they’re contributing. Certainly, great players want the ball. You want them to want the ball.

“I’ve been around guys that always wanted the ball not because they’re selfish necessarily, they felt like it was the best way to win. You want those players, you want those guys on the roster. … I think based on the character of these guys we have in the room, I don’t really worry about that.”

Follow @Tdrake4sports