If the Cardinals were a band, Zay Jones understands that he would not be Freddie Mercury of Queen or Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.
At times, he's just going to be Gene.
"Sometimes, you're not the lead singer, and that's OK," the wide receiver said, asking if the media remembered the old Will Ferrell skit on "Saturday Night Live." "Sometimes, you just got to play the cowbell and that's your job, and you do it with a great attitude until you're asked to come in and be the lead singer of the group."
In Sunday's loss to the Colts, Jones finished the game with 79 yards on five receptions. His stats nearly eclipsed his total for last season (eight receptions for 84 yards.) With quarterback Jacoby Brissett filling in for the injured Kyler Murray, Jones wasn't the only wideout who flashed.
Wide receiver Michael Wilson had a season-high 44 yards on four targets. On top of his special-teams production, Greg Dortch played 44 percent of the offensive snaps and had a touchdown reception. After noticing that the Colts "had a plan to take away Trey," coach Jonathan Gannon applauded tight end Trey McBride for his eight-reception, 72-yard outing.
Jones finished with the team-high in yards, more than doubling the 37 he had compiled in the first five games of the year.
"It was fun to be in that groove," Jones said. "For me, again, it goes back to the process, not to sound like a broken record, but it's using that experience of what I've done, staying present, trusting my ability, trusting what I've been coached to do here and going out and executing. That was just a glimpse of what happened (Sunday)."
The receivers were pushed into a more prominent role when Marvin Harrison Jr. left the game with a concussion in the second quarter. The offense also had to adjust their play style prior to their opening drive after Travis Vokolek was taken off the field on a stretcher. The blocking tight end was expected to fill in on 13 personnel packages after Tip Reiman's season-ending injury last week.
"That shows me they're on the details," Gannon said. "We talk about roles, and a lot of different ways roles can change. In-game is probably the most challenge one. Our guys stepped up to the plate and did a good job."
There was plenty of discussion throughout the offseason about finding a wide receiver who could complement Harrison and McBride in the Cardinals passing attack. When asked about Wilson, wide receivers coach Drew Terrell described him as a "dog," and added his tape, regardless of the stats, back it up.
Take the pulse of the locker room and many will share the same confidence about the state of the wide receiver position, regardless of Harrison's availability.
"Every day in practice, the way that guys speak to each other, the respect we have for each other within the room, the way that our coaches address us, the way they show clips of us, I don't think it's ever lost within this building and that's the most important thing," Jones said. "We're like each other's little hype men."
Jones said everyone else in that room is "doing their part in the band."
While the hypothetical music might sound good, the result of the final product has not met the team's standards. The Cardinals find themselves on a four-game losing streak with a date against the Packers on deck before the bye.
Do the lead performers need to step up? Of course. But maybe the Cardinals need more cowbell too.
"I think it's through leadership and through the guys who have played a long time and understand the duration of the season," Jones said, who noted his 2022 Jaguars team that started their season 3-7 and made the playoffs. "It's leaning into those guys and staying together collectively as a group, taking it step by step, and trusting that process -- as cliché as it is."
