One of the first things you may notice in the Cardinals training camp is the depth and versatility at the wide receiver position.
There are the established names: Fitzgerald and Floyd. There is the lightning-in-a-bottle second year speedster in John Brown. Then there’s the newcomers trying to earn a spot in J.J. Nelson, Brittan Golden, and Jaxon Shipley. Sandwiched between the trio atop the depth chart and the young pass-catchers looking for a break is Jaron Brown, who occupied the fourth spot in the depth chart for the Cardinals last year.
Brown might have been overlooked by some early in this preseason, but his presence was felt after he had the catch of training camp (like…every training camp) on Tuesday.
With the first week of training camp underway, it seems like there is a different receiver each day taking their turn at “anything you can do, I can do better” with the rest of the receiving corps.
Consider the bar raised.
Brown says the unit as a whole has hit the ground running, pushed each other, taken their coach’s message to heart.
“There’s always room for improvement, but for the most part, I think we are doing a good job eliminating mental errors, just eliminating the little things that (Coach Arians) talks about,” Brown said.
Entering his third season with the Cardinals, Brown is focusing on one number, number 11, as a beacon to develop his game and continue to grow as a receiver.
“If you every watch Larry (Fitzgerald), he is a hard working guy – one of the hardest working guys on the team. So I just try to emulate him in everything I do.”
On a team where “next man up” was the rallying cry turned thorn in the fan base’s side after frequently hearing the mantra in 2014, Brown and the rest of the receiving corps are preparing to be on the field week and week out. The unit has already felt the harsh reality of early season injuries when Michael Floyd left practice Wednesday after reportedly dislocating three fingers, meaning Brown is not particular on where he can improve during the preseason.
“Everywhere,” Brown said. “(In) special teams I want to do more, as well as the offense. If I make the team, I want to help the team out.”
