The Arizona Cardinals will begin training camp this year one week earlier than other clubs this year due to the fact that they are playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game.
There will be several battles that every Cardinals fan will be looking at every week.
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To start with, the quarterback situation. The entire fanbase is watching the Cardinals for this group to thin out and declare a winner. The reason, obviously, is whether Jacoby Brissett will re-take the starter position
after being named the training camp QB1, only to have new head coach Mike LaFleur mention that he isn’t going to bother with who is taking the QB1 snaps anymore.
Reading between the lines, it seems that LaFleur just might allow this to become a full-blown QB competition going forward since veteran Gardner Minshew and rookie Carson Beck participated in every session the team offered while Brissett stayed away.
Because Arizona has declared they are going back to running the ball and throwing more short passes, who will remain in the running back room since training camp has six guys?
Defensive tackle and safety were both groups of concern after last year. Will kicker Chad Ryland regroup and continue a strong campaign? How will the new long snapper, Casey Kreiter, fit? Can injured cornerbacks Max Melton and Garrett Williams help out this group?
Then there is the receiver group. In meetings, this room has had to round up some extra chairs because currently, there are 12 pass catchers on the roster. No, not a misprint. Every so many weeks, another one arrives with his duffel bag and backpack, anxious to show that he should be one of the six players the Cardinals will begin the season with.
Yeah, six receivers listed on the final roster. That’s it.
Michael Wilson, Marv Harrison, Kendrick Bourne, and probably rookie Reggie Virgil are a certainty. That leaves two spots. Simi Fehoko and Xavier Weaver have been hanging on by a thread for some time now, but neither is assured of anything other than a competitive camp.
The rest of this group? Jalen Brooks, Bryson Green, Tejhaun Palmer, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Harrison Wallace III. Each one is working to secure a spot come Week 1.
Here is a guy to watch who isn’t getting any press. Yet. But he will: Devin Duvernay.
Beginnings
Like many NFL players, Duvernay grew up in Texas. He attended Sachse High School in Sachse, Texas, located just a stone’s throw northeast of Dallas.
He played football in high school and still holds the school record for the longest kickoff-return touchdown, a 109-yard return. He was voted an All-America, named a two-time All-State, and a three-time First-Team 11-6A All-District. As a junior, he was selected as a member of the “2015 Super Team.” After his senior year, he was invited to participate in the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game, chosen to the “2016 Texas’ Best” list, chosen to the All-USA Texas First Team by USA Today, and was one of three wide receivers named “Tops in Texas.”
In football, he played receiver and kick returner, ran a 4.39 in the 40 with a vertical leap of 35.5”, broad jump of 10’-3”, with a wingspan of 6’-3 ¼”.
He was also a track star. Duvernay won the 2015 100-meter 6A State Championship with a time of 10.27. He was the anchor in helping Sachse to a seventh-place finish in the 2015 6A state 4×100 meter relay with a time of 41.38.
Duvernay came from an athletic background. His twin brother Donovan played defensive back at Texas. He has four uncles who played college baseball, and three positions in college football. His cousin is former Cardinals QB Kyler Murray.
His college offers were from Oregon State, Texas Tech, TCU, Wisconsin, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Alabama, San Diego State, Notre Dame, Clemson, UCLA, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Tulsa, Kansas, Illinois, Duke, Colorado State, Auburn, Oklahoma State, LSU, Arizona State, Michigan, Maryland, SMU, Mississippi State, Cal, Boise State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Miami, and Iowa.
Duvernay (5’-11”, 200 pounds) committed to play at Baylor, and then flipped to Texas, who played him right away as he appeared in all 12 games as a freshman.
For his first three seasons in college, he did not have the success he had in high school, although he played in all 38 contests. But in his senior season, he started in all 13 games, had 106 receptions for 1,386 yards, a 13.1 average yards per catch, scored nine TDs, had 10 rushes for 24 yards, plus another score. The number of receptions and total yardage led the conference.
In all four years, he returned 26 kickoffs for 550 yards, a 21.2 yards per return average, with zero touchdowns.
Duvernay was named First Team All-Big 12 as a senior, a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and named Academic All-Big 12 First Team twice. He was also invited to play in the prestigious Senior Bowl.
His X handle is @Dev_Duv5 while his Instagram is @dduv6.
On to the NFL
In the 2020 NFL draft, Duvernay was selected in Round 3 by the Baltimore Ravens.
His scouting report on Sports Forecaster stated:
“A Texas high school track star, he boasts near-world-class speed and a compact, rocked-out physique. Invites a generous cushion as a legit vertical threat. Has natural hands, with impressive extension for his size, and he is a violent runner after the catch. Uses his squat frame and powerful lower half to maintain balance and bounce off tackles. Lacks optimal height to win contested throws. His poor lateral agility may restrict him to straight-line routes and slot duty at the NFL level.”
During his first three years with Baltimore, he was used sparingly and was more of a return specialist than a receiver role. In his third season, he had career highs in receptions (37), yards (407), average (11.0), YAC (156), and touchdowns (3). None of these numbers screams being an exceptional pass catcher.
However, his return stats were pretty dang good. He was returning both punts and kickoffs with averages of 13.8 in punt returns and 27.5 in kickoffs. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022 as an AFC specialist.
In his contract year, he suffered a back injury in Week 14 and was placed on IR, which limited his stats. That season, the Ravens had plenty of injuries to their receiver room.
After his rookie deal expired, he was allowed to test the free agent market and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a two-year deal. The following training camp, he was released. Duvernay then inked a deal with the Chicago Bears on a one-year contract. He was cut on the final cutdown, then re-signed with the Bears the next day, who made him their return man.
On March 15, 2026, Duvernay signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Cardinals.
During the Cardinals’ OTAs and minicamps this year, Duvernay showed he still has plenty of speed as a receiver as well as a return specialist. It is a given that he will take on the punt and kickoff return duties, but it was his quickness that will add a dynamic element to Arizona’s receiver room.
He showed the coaches that he can take on the slot receiver role with excellent open-field vision to find creases to run through. He possesses good hands and is able to get upfield very quickly. On slant routes, he has no fear regarding hard-hitting safeties or linebackers coming his way. And he should become an asset on screenplays.
Despite being in the league for six seasons, Duvernay does have a limited route tree. He will need to work from the slot on short, quick passes, which is what this new offense is predicated on.
His signing was graded on WalterFootball as a “B” rating:
Cardinals sign WR/KR Devin Duvernay (1 year, $2.5 million): B Grade
“Devin Duvernay is primarily a return specialist and an occasional deep threat on offense. He’ll help the Cardinals in the former regard, so this signing makes sense. Duvernay made the Pro Bowl for his return ability, so this seems like a quality, cheap signing.”
The true test doesn’t begin in NFL games; it begins in the Cardinals’ training camp against capable defenders and the Pro Bowler Budda Baker.
But for now, Duvernay is looking like a guy who is getting noticed with reliable hands. Watch him in training camp and in the preseason games. Let’s see what he can do when the lights come on.
