(boss) you.' It's, 'You play beside me, you're older, I'm the young cat, teach me what you know.' "

Sometimes that's about being on the field, when the intensity is raised and the mind is racing and Mathis can help Humphries understand a certain play. Sometimes it's about what needs to be done in the meeting room, a place where Humphries acknowledged that sometimes last year he saw as a place to "kill time."

The maturity that Arians and Goodwin sought from Humphries was as much about the mental side of the game. That's why the "Knee Deep" nickname surfaced, for the pressure the coaches felt they needed to put on Humphries.

"(The nickname) was very frustrating at first," Humphries said. "But I kind of went from being angry about it to, 'OK, I'm going to use it as fuel. You call me Knee Deep but I'm going to show you why you drafted me in the first round so you don't need to do that anymore.' "

It has worked.

"I think he's a little bit more focused, he's matured a whole bunch – he's not all the way there yet – and I think he's night and day on the grass," Goodwin said. "I'm not worried about D.J. from a physicality standpoint or a knowledge standpoint. I just want to make sure he's prepared, and I think he'll be OK by the time the season starts."

Goodwin said Humphries is "not as goofy anymore" now that Mathis has arrived. It's the right path the Cardinals need both on as they move toward training camp and the regular season.