Larry Fitzgerald has described Tyrann Mathieu as a "tremendous kid" following his regular season debut at the weekend.

The Arizona Cardinals safety made seven tackles and a forced fumble during the team's 27-24 loss to the St Louis Rams on Sunday.

The wide receiver told NBC Sports: "I absolutely love the kid. I love him. I mean he works his tail off every single day in practice, he comes to work, he studies plays so hard. He's a tremendous kid in our locker room too.

"I mean he's on time, he's punctual, taking notes in meetings, just everything that you would expect out of a player of his calibre. Him and Patrick Peterson together it's just really exciting. I'm so happy he's on our team."

The Cardinals used their third-round Draft pick to acquire the former Heisman Trophy runner-up in April.