CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Before the Arizona Cardinals’ joint practice against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 14, Jonathan Gannon had a message to deliver.
“It’s just a tool for us to evaluate,” Gannon said. “But it’s a big tool.”
In other words, this was a crucial day for the Cardinals, up and down the roster. For players at the top of the depth chart, it was an opportunity to show that they’re prepared for the season. For those fighting for playing time, it was a way to earn snaps. And for guys on the fringe of the roster, it was a crucial piece of their evaluation.
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“This is a really good defense, really good team,” Gannon said ahead of the session. “… This will be a good learning experience for us.”
The importance of that experience was only amplified afterward, when Broncos coach Sean Payton revealed that neither team will play its starters in their preseason game this weekend.
So, how did the Cardinals respond to the opportunity? Here are five takeaways from a busy day in Colorado.
Trey McBride dominated
Throughout Cardinals training camp, McBride looked like he was still the top option in the passing attack. Even if the target share was fairly even between him and Marvin Harrison Jr., the bulk of Kyler Murray’s success came when throwing to his star tight end.
Against the Broncos, that reality was entrenched — and then some.
McBride was a dominant force throughout the practice. On one offensive series, Murray hit his tight end on a quick out, then found him for a huge gain on a broken play on the next snap. Two plays later, he went back to him on a corner route for another first down. At one point, six of Murray’s eight completions had been to McBride.
“Me and Kyler had a good connection today,” McBride said. “He was throwing the ball really well.”
Murray finished the day 7 for 9 when targeting his tight end, and one of those incompletions was batted down at the line of scrimmage. The Cardinals offense was essentially a tale of two units — an efficient force when the ball went to McBride and an inconsistent mixed bag when it didn’t.
McBride even had a nice moment against reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, catching a short pass through contact from the Broncos star cornerback.
“Those (elite tight ends) become more difficult than the blue chip receiver out here that we can lean to, double,” Payton said, when asked about defending McBride. “… They’re so quarterback friendly.”
A mixed bag for Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Kyler Murray-Marvin Harrison Jr. connection did not get off to a good start in the joint practice.
The duo failed to connect on its first three attempts, including a jump ball that Harrison lost downfield to cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. The other two incompletions came on fade routes in the red zone. Both times, Harrison was tightly covered, and Murray threw over his head out of bounds.
Their connection, though, grew as practice progressed. On one lengthy Cardinals drive, Murray hit Harrison with a perfectly thrown deep ball over the head of cornerback Riley Moss. Two players later, Harrison beat Surtain on a corner route and made a leaping catch — arguably his best play of the preseason, given the competition level.
Murray and Harrison also connected for a pair of quick passes on a two-minute drill simulation to end practice.
Overall, Murray was 4 for 8 when targeting Harrison. That ratio continued a trend from training camp, when Harrison led the Cardinals in targets but did not match McBride’s efficiency. Last season, Murray was 62 for 116 when targeting Harrison.
Murray also did well protecting the ball in 11-on-11 work. Multiple times, he worked through his reads and either checked down or threw the ball away, rather than throwing into danger — as he did on an ugly interception in the preseason opener.
Murray did, however, have a pass intercepted by McMillian in a 7-on-7 session. The pass was an attempted slot fade to running back Trey Benson.
Still, it was encouraging to see positives emerge from a practice against the Broncos, who should have one of the league’s better defenses this season. Multiple reporters who regularly cover the Broncos said it was the best any offense has looked against that defense this summer.
The Broncos defense reportedly dominated the offense in training camp and looked even better in a joint practice against the San Francisco 49ers last week.
Cardinals offensive line improved through day
Like with the Murray-Harrison connection, it was a rocky start for the Cardinals’ offensive line. In the first few 11-on-11 sessions, they had two pre-snap penalties and a bad snap. Working against a stout Broncos pass rush, they also allowed some early pressure on Murray.
Those issues largely disappeared as the day progressed.
“They’ve got some guys with juice and pass rush ability that are really good players,” left guard Evan Brown said. “So it’s just seeing a different guy, seeing how he works his run game and pass fits. And then how you have to change your game based on what he does. So it’s feeling it out a little bit early on ’cause we’re not truly game-planning.”
The offense, though, did sputter on its final drive, working in a two-minute drill situation. They picked up one first down then stalled out at midfield.
Cardinals secondary struggled
There was one positional battle in which the Cardinals had few answers for the Broncos. Throughout the day, their secondary was gashed by Denver’s receiving corps.
Rookie Will Johnson, in particular, had a difficult practice — a contrast to his excellent training camp and a reminder of the learning curve that rookie defensive backs face in the NFL.
In 11-on-11 work, Johnson was beaten by Courtland Sutton on a go route for a touchdown and by Marvin Mims and Trent Sherfield Sr. on a pair of comeback routes. He was also in the vicinity when Broncos quarterback Bo Nix hit Devaughn Vele for a touchdown on a busted coverage from the Cardinals — although it’s not clear who was at fault on that miscommunication.
Before practice, Gannon hinted at the value that can come from those types of difficult moments.
“I think they’re really good learning reps,” Gannon said. “(Johnson) is gonna go against a bunch of different guys today and instinctually have to kinda feel it out.”
It wasn’t just Johnson who struggled with that challenge. Even the Cardinals’ most reliable, established defensive backs had moments where they were beaten in coverage. The Broncos’ passing offense was the star of the day.
That much was clear in the two-minute drill to finish practice. While the Cardinals offense struggled to move the ball, the Broncos offense marched into the red zone with ease.
Defensive line impressed
While it was a difficult day for the Cardinals secondary, their defensive line stood out — an encouraging sign given the offseason investment into that unit.
In the preseason opener against the Chiefs, veterans Calais Campbell and Josh Sweat both sat out. And given that the Cardinals are not playing their starters in the game this weekend, this was the closest we’ll get to seeing that group at full strength before Week 1.
That only amplified the excitement surrounding their performance.
“I feel like it was very encouraging,” Campbell said. “A lot of young guys making plays, just taking turns.”
Both Campbell and linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said the Cardinals kept the Broncos’ running game in check. They also created steady pressure on Nix. Darius Robinson, Josh Sweat and Dante Stills were among the more impactful players on that unit.
While there was no tackling in the joint practice, a handful of Nix’s big plays might not have happened in a live game. Instead, they would have been turned into sacks or pressures.
It was an especially impressive performance given the opponent. Last season, Denver had perhaps the league’s best offensive line.
“Today was a really good day,” Campbell said. “I feel like iron sharpened iron.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways from Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos joint practice: 1 guy dominates