With Arizona Cardinals training camp beginning this week, we now start a new series over the next few days. What are some individual player battles, either for starting jobs or places on the final roster.

The first is perhaps the most intriguing one on offense, and that tells you how talented and how set the offense is.

It is the battle for the third string quarterback job between Matt Barkley and Jake Coker.

What makes this so intriguing is both are unknowns.

Cardinals fans have not seen Barkley in action since he was acquired. He was traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to Arizona after the preseason was over last year. He never saw game action and all Cardinals fans know about him is he lost the quarterback bucket challenge a couple of times.

Coker is an undrafted rookie out of Alabama. He has the size and arm profile Bruce Arians prefers, but he only started one season in college. However, his one season as a starter won a national championship.

His numbers were not impressive. He was efficient, but he played his best ball in the biggest games.

Who has the edge?

Because of the season it is expected to be for the Cardinals, Barkley probably has the leg up. They brought him in so they had a guy in the system all season as their third stringer just in case the worst possible scenario were to occur like it did in 2014 when both starting quarterback Carson Palmer got hurt and so did backup Drew Stanton. With championship aspirations, they need the player who can get them through a game or two knowing the offense.

The decision likely comes down to this: do they go with Barkley on the 53-man roster or Coker on the practice squad?

The second half of this year’s preseason games will be fun to watch.