TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mayonnaise. Ketchup. American cheese.

That's how Cardinals rookie linebacker Haason Reddick likes his cheesesteaks, especially the ones from Max's Steaks on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, the city where he grew up and where he played in college at Temple.

"Probably the best cheesesteak I've ever had," Reddick said about Max's Steaks. "Definitely going to try to get the guys to go down there and taste that. I've been telling them. I've been bragging about it. Been telling them what's the right way."

Reddick will be quick to tell you the wrong way to dress up a cheesesteak.

"I don't do Cheez Whiz," Reddick said. "Man, Cheez Whiz is a tourist attraction. Anybody that's really from Philly, I've never seen them put Cheez Whiz on their cheesesteak. I think that's a little bizarre."

Reddick also won't put onions on his cheesesteaks.

Cardinals rookie Haason Reddick is looking forward to playing in his hometown on Sunday. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona's first-round pick will make his first return to the Philadelphia area in the NFL. It also happens to be his first trip back home in a few months.

Reddick grew up in Camden, New Jersey, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. There, he watched the Philadelphia Eagles as a child, but more so because of Duce Staley than any other reason. When Staley signed with the Steelers in 2004, Reddick's allegiance shifted to the western part of Pennsylvania, where it still remains.

Eagles fans were largely among those cheering Reddick when he was drafted 13th overall in the first round this year, when the draft was in downtown Philadelphia. They watched him play for the Owls for the past four seasons, but seeing him on the field this weekend will be different. He'll be the enemy.

"I'm just happy to go back there, being around the fans that I played in front of for four or five years," he said.

But Reddick is acutely aware of the other side of the Philadelphia fanaticism, which famously booed Santa Claus in 1968. He's prepared for what could be awaiting him Sunday inside Lincoln Financial Field.

"They're crazy, man," Reddick said. "You never know what you're going to get. I've seen them boo their own team. I've seen the applaud for the team. So, I don't know how they're going to feel about me.

"I might make a play; I don't know if I'm going to get an applause or they're going to boo me. We'll see come Sunday."