TEMPE, Ariz. - When Arizona Cardinals cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith learned that Starling Thomas V tore an ACL toward the end of a training camp practice on July 25th, Smith felt like he was punched in the gut.
He was already navigating the loss of Sean Murphy-Bunting, who started 15 games for Arizona in 2024, for the season due to a knee injury suffered during the offseason, and then came the loss of Thomas, who also started 15 games last season.
Before training camp was a week old, the Cardinals' cornerback situation took a sharp turn.
"Obviously, losing those two guys really hurts," Smith said.
But, as is the case across the NFL when an injury strikes, it creates an opportunity. And waiting to capitalize in Arizona was a trio of young cornerbacks -- Garrett Williams, Max Melton and Will Johnson -- who have already established themselves as the likely three-man rotation for Smith as Week 1 nears.
Combined, Williams, Melton and Johnson have started just 20 NFL games, with Williams accounting for 17 of them.
"Now, the way the room's been built, it's an opportunity for those young guys to just shine," Smith said. "And that's what I'm excited about. I'm excited to see those young guys continue to rise and shine when the lights are bright."
Williams, who Arizona drafted in 2023 while he was recovering from an ACL injury suffered during his last year at Syracuse, has moved back outside after learning how to play nickel corner the last two seasons. He's adopted a dual-position role within Arizona's defense this year, playing outside in the Cardinals' base 3-4 defense but moving inside to the slot when Arizona goes to both nickel and dime.
The plan, Williams said, was for him to play more outside cornerback this season regardless of Thomas' health, but Thomas' injury emphasized Williams' role even more. After spending the last two years learning how to play in the slot after spending his collegiate career outside, Williams has had to reintroduce himself to his original position during this past offseason. He splits his time between cornerbacks and safeties meetings, finding time to meet with the position coach whose meeting he wasn't in that day to get debriefed.
If someone on the Cardinals' roster can handle moving between positions, it's Williams, Smith said. How meticulous and detailed Williams is has jumped out to Smith, who said Williams' ability to process information quickly -- a key trait for slot corners -- helped convinced Arizona to move Williams inside along with his ability to cover receivers off the line in the slot.
"It's been cool," Williams said. "I think the good thing is at Syracuse, I think it's a lot of the similar stuff that I'm asked to do here, and so it's just really just the biggest thing of just getting the reps and just getting that comfortable and then also just being able to switch my mind from going from nickel to corner, safety to corner. But I feel pretty comfortable with it."
When Williams slides inside, Johnson, who Arizona drafted in this year's second round out of Michigan, replaces Williams at outside corner.
It didn't take long into training camp for Johnson to start running with the first team.
It's a credit to him playing in an NFL system at Michigan, Smith said, along with how quickly Johnson has digested the playbook.
But, and maybe most importantly for Johnson's prospects of getting playing time, has been his ability to defend receivers.
"He's showing that he can go out there and hang with some really good receivers," defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said. "He's got improvements to make, still."
Anyone watching Saturday night's preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs saw that.
Johnson was flagged for defensive pass interference on the second play of the game, helping the Chiefs move from the 5-yard-line to the 1.
"I thought he was a little bit too far back on his heels on one press rep," Jonathan Gannon said. "I thought his eyes were messed up on one zone rep.
"Other than that, pretty good."
Gannon put the play on the screen in a team meeting as an example of how to respond to that kind of mistake.
From Smith's perspective, there's a benefit to Johnson playing a lot early and learning in a trial-by-fire situation, but also to him coming off the field when Williams moves back outside so Johnson can get a different viewpoint and some coaching.
However, Johnson won't be coming off the field all that much in 2025.
Last season, 62.7% of offensive plays featured three or more receivers, according to ESPN Research. If that trend continues or increases, Johnson will be playing. A lot.
"You play mostly with the nickel on the field," Smith said. "So, I'm excited to see what he does when he's out there."
And across the field, Melton has been lining up during training camp as the other outside corner, where he stays regardless of the defensive alignment.
Entering his second season, Melton said the bar will be raised for him but he doesn't feel any different being the everyday starter. That's just how he's wired, Smith said.
Despite some rocky outings early in his rookie season, Melton didn't let his confidence get rattled. He flushed and forgot bad plays and moved on to the next, the kind of resiliency that has Smith believing Melton is "primed and ready for the role that he's going to be in this year."
Melton has already been showing the kind of growth Arizona's coaches wanted out of their second-year players. He's been getting more comfortable and his technique has been improving, Rallis said.
But the true Year 2 growth has come in Melton's deeper grasp of playing cornerback, Smith said. That means Melton has a better understanding of pre-snap activity like who the dropping defender is on his side, what the offense is checking into, what formation the offense is in, where the running back is, where the motion is going -- and what all of that means.
The hope is Melton's growth will lead to more anticipation and more plays, Smith said.
Especially as an every down cornerback.
"I can't wait for it," Melton said. "This is every kid's dream. Everybody wants to start in the NFL one day or just be in the NFL period. But having the opportunity and the pleasure to start, it is just like I'm going to make every play like it's my last.
"So, yeah, it feels good."
While inexperienced cornerbacks can have an opposing quarterback salivating, Gannon said having so many young corners means he and his staff can shape them into the type of defensive back they want.
That starts with breaking bad habits, which, for young cornerbacks like Williams, Melton and Johnson may just relate to schematic execution or techniques.
"He's kind of grooming them young guys how we want them to be groomed," Gannon said of Smith. "It's been really cool to see."
Part of molding his young corners, however, means that Smith needs to take a more methodical approach to teaching them.
"We get very, very detailed," Smith said. "And for me as the coach...I feel like I'm a teacher that's teaching ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade because...I can go 101 and I can give you the bare bones and you can go out there and execute and play fast.
"But as you show that you can handle that information, now we can get to 202, 301, 401, whatever that is. So, it's really on me to tailor the information to what that guy can handle. So, if a guy can't handle all that information, let me dial it back so that what does he exactly need to know so he can play fast."
There's an upside being part of such a young and inexperienced cornerbacks room, Williams said. Everyone has a fresh mindset and "nobody's beefing with each other." Everyone gets along. That, Williams said, creates an atmosphere that fosters a communal growth. All the corners are pushing each other. It helps, he said, everyone reach their ceiling.
Melton loves that Arizona's corners are so young.
"It feels like all the odds are stacked against us," he said. "They're like, 'Oh, everybody's young. They're going to make a ton of mistakes.' But that's just a challenge to us. Hit the field and let's move.
"If we put up the film, put up the numbers, they're going to respect us really fast."