The Cardinals drafted Deone Bucannon in the first round of the draft and they have an opening in the lineup for a starting safety in 2014, which is a pretty good sign that they’d like to see Bucannon in their starting lineup this year.
Bucannon hasn’t gotten there just yet. He’s shadowing Tony Jefferson now and trying to make the mental transition from college to the NFL and occasionally seeing snaps with the first team, something that will likely continue until Bucannon shows coach Bruce Arians that Bucannon has the proper grasp of what he needs to do on the field.
"[Deone has] only got one problem -- He is so much a perfectionist,” Arians said, via the team’s website. “It is paralysis by analysis right now because he wants to do everything just perfect. Even Tyrann [Mathieu] told him, ‘Just play.’ You can’t play perfect all the time. But you do love that about him.”
Mathieu isn’t the only Cardinals defensive back advising Bucannon. He is also getting tips from Jefferson and cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie, saying that “you’d be dumb to fail, honestly,” with so much support on hand to get him ready for the season.
If Bucannon can make the leap, Cromartie rebounds and Mathieu returns to full health, the Cardinals should have a strong secondary. Bucannon thinks, via ArizonaSports.com, it can be “arguably the best in the league.” The team in Seattle would likely lodge an argument that the teams can settle in person a couple of times.