Kent Somers

azcentral sports

Anyone who has been around Cardinals coach Bruce Arians for long knows he doesn't parse words when praising, criticizing or evaluating players.

Still, his reply was surprising when asked on Tuesday how good cornerback Justin Bethel could be.

"He could be our best," Arians said. "He's got all the skill level to be as good as there is."

That begged an obvious question. Better than Patrick Peterson?

Arians answered that before he was even asked.

"Including Patrick," he said. "This kid has an unbelievable skill set and he's starting to get his hands on more balls than anybody out here. The sky's the limit."

No one connected with the Cardinals expects Bethel to play at that level this year.

Peterson, Antonio Cromartie and Jerraud Powers are still playing ahead of him.

But Bethel, who became a Pro Bowl special-teams player last year, is making progress toward being more than that.

"After the season, I had a meeting with BA," Bethel said, referring to Arians, "and he was like, 'You made it to the Pro Bowl on special teams. Are you ready to step it up to the next level and try to play some corner?'

"Coming off last season, I felt like I had come to the point where I was ready to start playing some corner. I was getting better at my technique. This year, I'm emphasizing just getting into my playbook."

As a defensive player, Bethel was a project when the Cardinals drafted him in the sixth round out of Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., in 2012. He worked at both safety and cornerback as a rookie, then just cornerback a year ago.

What he really has become is a specialty player who covers kicks and punts, one who gives opponents fits trying to prevent him from blocking field-goal attempts and punts.

The Cardinals believe he could eventually be more.

Already among the team's faster players, he might be as good an athlete as Peterson. Before he entered the NFL, Bethel became a YouTube sensation when he leaped 5 feet from a flat-footed position.

What Bethel doesn't have is experience at cornerback. He's spent more time studying video this offseason, and in offseason practices appears to have a better sense of what is happening around him.

"I just think I wasn't in my playbook enough to play it," Bethel said of last season. "Once you get into the playbook, it slows the game down and it makes everything a little bit easier with your technique.

"My goal is to eventually be a starter as a cornerback and still do my role on special teams."

While Bethel went to the Pro Bowl as a special-teams player, Arians believes the experience will help him as a cornerback.

"I don't think there's any doubt being over there (Hawaii) with those guys gave him a ton of confidence," Arians said.

The Cardinals won't need Bethel to start this year as long as Peterson and Cromartie stay healthy.

But Cromartie has just a one-year deal, so Bethel, if he improves, could fit into the lineup in 2015, the last year of his contract.

Arians, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross all have talked to Bethel about eventually becoming "the guy," Arians said.

"He's got the ability to be a top-flight corner," the coach said.