Which young Cardinals could benefit most from added 2024 reps?

The Arizona Cardinals aren’t afraid to roll out their youth under head coach Jonathan Gannon.

It’s an important part of Arizona’s foundation two years in, with young players gaining valuable experience and confidence while filling a role on the roster.

We saw it last year with then-rookies Paris Johnson Jr., Dante Stills and Michael Wilson.

Unlike last season, though, the Cardinals are in the thick of meaningful December football, where the stakes are as high as the experience and knowledge that can be gained from this final stretch.

Given how Gannon operates, there’s not a better learning moment than right now.

But which young Cardinals could not only benefit most from the added reps, but also make an impact within their respective position groups the rest of the way?

A look at a handful of names that stand out:

Next men up?

It could be an important week for both tackle Christian Jones and linebacker Owen Pappoe in Carolina, with both Johnson (knee) and Mack Wilson Sr. (concussion) sidelined due to injury.

At least for Jones, Week 16’s game against the Carolina Panthers could be the first time all year the rookie logs a snap on game day.

Veteran Kelvin Beachum is expected to get the bulk of the work on the left side with Johnson out, but Jones could very much be in the mix if needed.

“He’s been doing a really good job. I just think his technique, he’s practicing better every day,” Gannon said Friday. “Typically, a lot of the time he’s going against our 1s.

“(The offensive line coaches) have done a really good job with him improving his game. He works at it, he’s conscience, he’s self-aware on the things he needs to get better at. I love his attitude. He treats practice like a game. He’s all-out all the time. His motor’s right. He’s doing a good job.”

Pappoe is still searching for a consistent role within the defense. Only once this season — Week 10’s blowout win over the Chicago Bears — did the young linebacker log at least 50% of the available defensive snaps.

But with Wilson out for Sunday’s tilt and MIKE backer Kyzir White coming off an illness, Pappoe could and should see more than the four defensive snaps he’s played across the past four games combined.

Nicknamed “The Freak,” Pappoe clearly has the athletic ability to hang at the NFL level. The big thing is logging consistent reps on defense and gaining more trust from his teammates and coaches.

Trending the right way

It’s taken some time, especially for first-round pick Darius Robinson, but both he and offensive lineman Isaiah Adams have grown into their roles these past couple of weeks.

Working through a calf injury while also dealing with the death of his mother earlier in the year, Robinson has now found a consistent role within the defensive line rotation.

After getting his feet wet behind 22 defensive snaps in Week 13, he’s posted back-to-back games with 30.

He’s making an impact, too, logging his first career sack last week while helping free up others around him to eat.

“He’s (on the) fast track to learning right now,” Gannon said Monday. “He was up in there today talking to (defensive coordinator Nick Rallis), talking to myself, talking to ‘D’ (defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc) about things that he is learning.

“He’s going to continue to learn every rep that he gets and figure it out even more and impact the game for us. I thought he was good in the pass game. I thought he made some excellent plays in the run game yesterday. Some of that will go unnoticed, but he’s doing what he’s coached to do at a high level right now.”

Much like Robinson, Adams has proven he can handle a bigger workload at right guard with a pair of starts these past two weeks. He didn’t miss a snap in either game.

There’s been some growing pains in the pass-blocking department, but Adams has shown off his ability as a run blocker, something he was coveted for coming out of college.

Now, it’s all about finishing strong with a consistent workload and meaningful role.

Chance for more?

If there are two players who could greatly benefit from some added playing time this final stretch, it’s safety Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson and edge rusher Xavier Thomas.

Thomas had a strong two-game stretch earlier in the season with 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and three QB hits across Weeks 9 and 10 but has since seen less playing time and zeroes across the above categories.

Given how the season’s gone for Thomas, it wouldn’t be surprising if he continued seeing 10-15 defensive snaps per game the rest of the way.

But with Jesse Luketa and his 188 defensive snaps (30%) heading to injured reserve with a thigh injury, additional reps are there for the taking in not only the outside linebackers room, but also on special teams.

As for Rabbit, the safety has the makings of a Budda Baker 2.0 given his ability to drop the hammer in a moment’s notice.

He’s also shown that he can handle a full game’s workload with a pair of starts that saw at least 97% of defensive snaps.

Beyond those games, though, Rabbit hasn’t seen more than 34% of reps in any other contest.

That’ll happen when the newly extended Baker and Jalen Thompson are roaming the backend of the secondary.

Rabbit has seen more consistent reps as a special teamer, so experience is still being gained there. But getting more defensive snaps could go a long way in putting Taylor-Demerson on a fast(er) track heading into Year 2.

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