Arizona Cardinals WR Battle Heating Up as Training Camp Continues

The Arizona Cardinals don't have many position battles with 2025's iteration of training camp here - especially with no major moves made to the offensive side of the ball.

That rings true for the Cardinals' positional battle for the third wide receiver spot. With Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson firmly established as WR1/WR2 in the desert, the starting slot role appears to be fair game with preseason action around the corner.

"I think you got a number of guys there that compete and do things that they do well at a high level, and I think they're going to continue to do that. I really don't expect that to change," Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing told reporters ahead of practice on the position battle.

"If you look at how we've operated on offense, and I've said this in the room, like, 'show me you do something at high level. My job is to go figure out how to go put that into motion and put that into action for our offense.' So I think those guys are continuing to try to carve out that role and carve out that that niche in how we do things."

Cardinals WR3 Battle Continues Into Camp

Zay Jones and Greg Dortch are currently the two names atop the list of players in the running.

Dortch has been a fan favorite in Arizona for awhile, and his versatility across the board has made him an easy roster spot. Though undersized, Dortch's acceleration and ability to create separation has earned high marks from fellow teammates and coaches, though he failed to establish himself during his first year as a full-time starter in 2024.

The Cardinals brought in Zay Jones last offseason, a former Jacksonville Jaguars wideout who produced when called upon, though the big-bodied receiver was suspended for the first five games last season and also missed another game due to injury.

Dortch and Jones never got going for various reasons in 2024 - which led many to believe the Cardinals could search for a different answer in the slot this offseason.

However, both were brought back by the Cardinals, and now both find themselves competing for the starting role.

Xavier Weaver is also a name to watch in that battle, as the undrafted Colorado wideout from a year ago managed to impress Jonathan Gannon's staff enough to land a roster spot in 2024. A sophomore surge could happen for a player who looked good in training camp a year ago.

We've heard so much about the offense changing, and Petzing said the biggest change coming on his side of the ball would be areas of emphasis. What that means specifically for wideouts remains to be seen, but we could see a different dynamic in usage for whoever ultimately wins the starting slot role.

As of now, with pads set to come on for Arizona for the first time today, we've yet to see one player truly emerge as a leader for the Cardinals' WR3 spot. For what it's worth, Jones is getting a lot of run with the starters while Dortch has bounced between first and second team time.