The No. 2 cornerback for the Cardinals remains a work in progress.

Justin Bethel came off the PUP list this week but still isn't ready to practice. Mike Jenkins finally returned to practice this week, although the surgery for a broken bone in his hand means he has to wear a cast. Meanwhile, rookie Brandon Williams remains the starter and still figures to be the best bet to be starting Sept. 11 even with his growing pains.

That's why Williams should've benefited big from a couple of practices against the Chargers, to work against different receivers than just the Cardinals and to see different looks. Williams got a healthy dose of Amari Cooper last week and now Keenan Allen -- who has been a tough cover in practice -- was this week.

"(Brandon) is a guy who were are going to lean on in the season so we want to see how he was living, how he was going to respond when the ball is coming his way," all-pro cornerback Patrick Peterson said. "Not to toot my own horn, but after the year I had last year, if there is a rookie defensive back, nine times out of 10 they're going to pick on the young pup. So (cornerbacks) coach (Kevin) Ross wanted to throw him into the fire and to see how he would respond."

Peterson is right, of course. Whomever is playing across from Peterson will be targeted often. Look at what happened to Bethel late last season. That's not going to change in 2016, whether it is Williams or Bethel or someone else.

"I can only imagine how tough it is getting 13, 14 targets a game," Peterson said. "That's tough for anyone. biggest thing is keeping the confidence up and relying on the technique. You are prepared for the moment, it's just about taking what you learned on the practice field to the game. That's the biggest thing for young cornerbacks."