2019 Team Previews - Arizona Cardinals
Projected Starting Lineup
QB: Kyler Murray RB: David Johnson WR: Larry Fitzgerald WR: Christian Kirk WR: Andy Isabella
TE: Charles Clay / Ricky Seals-Jones
LT: D.J. Humphries LG: J.R. Sweezy C: Mason Cole RG: Justin Pugh RT: Marcus Gilbert
Cardinals 2014-2018 Offensive Profile 2014-2018 Pass Attempts Rank: 15th, 19th, 3rd, 5th, 29th 2014-2018 Rush Attempts Rank: 24th, 9th, 21st, 20th, 28th 2014-2018 Play Volume Rank: 26th, 15th, 2nd, 5th, 31st 2014-2018 Yards Per Play Rank: 25th, 1st, 19th, 30th, 32nd
Kliff Kingsbury is entering his first season as an NFL Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator.
Passing: ATT COMP PCT YDS AVG YDS/G LONG TD TD% INT INT% SACK YDSL RATE
Rushing: ATT YDS AVG LONG 20+ TD YDS/G FUM FUML 1DN
Receiving: REC TAR YDS AVG TD LONG 20+ YDS/G FUM FUML YAC 1DN
Quarterback-
The Cardinals selected Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in this years NFL Draft. The Heisman Trophy winning quarterback takes the reigns of first year Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's offense. Murray was a one-year starter in Norman, as he took over for the previous years Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. I would say the offensive system for the Sooners is fairly beneficial for quarterbacks under Head Coach Lincoln Riley. Murray shot up the draft boards and became the bonafide top-prospect in the class after throwing for 4,361 yards and a staggering 11.6 yards per attempt while throwing 42 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. A mind blowing year for the nations best and that does not include the 1,001 yards rushing on 140 carries and 12 touchdowns!
In Arizona, Murray will be tasked with turning around the worst offense in the league as they finished 32nd in total yards and 32nd in passing yards. The good news for Murray is they went out and drafted some playmakers at wide receiver which we will get into later, the bad news is that the offensive line is still bottom five in the league. Kliff Kingsbury runs an uptempo Air-Raid attack that predicates the ball coming out quickly and getting his play makers in space. This is a very similar system to the one that Murray ran at Oklahoma. The quick passing attack along with Murray's legs will help mitigate pass-protection concerns. During the last four years at Texas Tech, Kingsbury's offenses were only sacked 4.7% of drop-backs, which is incredible for such a pass happy team that only had one lineman drafted during that span in Le"Raven Clark (2016).
Fantasy Outlook- Am I interested in one of the most athletic quarterbacks to come out in the last decade, that has one of the best offensive minds in football and an atrocious defense that will allow a lot of garbage time offensive production? Yes please, I want as many shares of Murray as I can get in best ball and season long drafts. I think he is an excellent late round take as he has top-5 upside at his position, just as long as you pair him with a steady player like Ryan, Rivers, or Brady.
Wide Receiver-
The most important part of a Kliff Kingsbury offense outside of the quarterback is the wide receiver position. The Cardinals addressed those needs in the draft, as they went out and drafted three highly regarded players at the position to pair with future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald and former Texas Tech standout Christian Kirk. Regarding wide receiver, it is important to note that in the past five seasons at Texas Tech, the slot receiver has had the most catches and yards receiving in three of those five years.
Christian Kirk played three seasons for Kingsbury at Texas A&M in which he racked up 234 catches for 2,856 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also added seven scores in the return game showing his ability in space. While most of his damage was done in the slot "Which is where this offense attacks and puts its best weapons" Kirk was split out wide much of last season while Fitzgerald handled majority of the snaps in the slot. I am hopeful that Kirk slides inside more this season, as Fitzgerald is on what should be the final year of his remarkable career but no longer has the big play ability.
Fantasy Outlook- I believe Kirk has the tools and is in the right system to make the jump into the top-30 receivers in year two and is someone that I am looking to add in the mid-rounds of my drafts.
Larry Fitzgerald refused to go quietly into the night as he choose to sign a one-year deal in what should be his last NFL season. Fitzgerald's production fell off a cliff as he went from 109 catches to just 69 last season, the positive news is that he averaged the exact same 10.6 yards per-reception. He still knows how to get open and is one of the best blocking receivers in the league, which makes me think Kingsbury keeps him involved fairly heavily as his offense revolves around the slot receiver.
Fantasy Outlook- If you want a safe floor player that is going to get you 70-85 catches and under a 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns, Larry Fitzgerald is your guy. I am looking for players with more upside though and will pass on Larry the legend.
Andy Isabella Was the highest receiver drafted by the Cardinals in the 2019 draft. Isabella lead the nation in receiving yards last season with 1,698 yards on 102 catches (16.6) per-catch and 13 touchdowns. The UMASS product set the combine on fire when he blazed a 4.31 forty solidifying his draft stock. Another player that fits better in the slot than outside, Isabella might take some time getting use to the NFL level as he will work both inside and out in the NFL under Kingsbury.
Fantasy Outlook- He has big play potential as he displayed against Georgia catching 15 balls for 219 yards and two touchdowns this past season, but his move outside will probably delay his production. Absolutely love him in dynasty and rookie draft leagues, but might not be the rookie receiver that steps up for the Cardinals this season.
Hakeem Butler is a matchup nightmare at 6'5 and 227 pounds with 4.48 speed on the outside. After playing second fiddle to Allen Lazard his RS Sophomore season, Butler was the big man on campus both literally and figuratively. Butler caught 60 balls for 1,318 yards and 9 touchdowns last season for the Cyclones. While it will take some seasoning to get accustom to the NFL game he will be a handful in the red-zone. He is an outside receiver that doesn't factor into the slot, so he has the upper hand in locking down the final outside receiver position.
Fantasy Outlook- Dynasty Radar and rookie radar only as he needs to polish up his route running and become a better player in the first 10-15 yards of his route tree. His lack of short area quickness is a concern but he attacks the football in the air very well and is violent with the ball in his hands and extremely tough to bring down.
KeeSean Johnson is my favorite receiver to have an impact for the Cardinals this season. The Senior out of Fresno State has developed a very strong chemistry with Kyler Murray this off-season and is someone Kingsbury singled out in post practice comments several times. Johnson was extremely productive in college catching 275 balls for 3,463 yards and 24 touchdowns. He will be playing outside like Butler so that gives him an advantage over Isabella starting out.
Fantasy Outlook- Johnson is currently the Cardinals rookie that I am targeting at the very end of fantasy drafts, as he has been the most productive in camp so far. I will continue to monitor this situation and grab whichever of these rookies that I think can help the most.
Tight End-
I really do not have much interest in the tight end position fantasy wise for this Cardinals team. Currently Charles Clay seems to be the favorite to start, but former Texas A&M receiver Ricky Seals-Jones might intrigue Kingsbury with his athleticism making this a difficult role to settle on and assume any production.
Running Backs-
David Johnson looks to "bounce" back after an abysmal 2018 season according to most fantasy owners. In reality, Johnson finally has a coach that will not run him directly behind center 66% of the time, thanks Pro Football Focus and Mike McCoy. With Bruce Arians, Johnson averaged 4.35 yards per carry totaling 1,820 yards while catching 116 balls for 1,336 yards and 8 touchdowns in just 21 starts. I can promise you that Kliff Kingsbury knows all too well how good David Johnson is at not only running the ball but at how adept he is at catching the football as well. I would expect 20+ touches in every game this season and a ton of work in the passing game for one of the leagues best.
Chase Edmonds enters his second season as the backup and handcuff to David Johnson. Edmonds was drafted in the 4th round and is the Patriot League’s all-time leading rusher (5,862), who averaged 6.2 yards per carry while adding 86 catches and compiling 74 all-purpose TDs. His versatility is something that the Cardinals loved, and he is very comparable to David Johnson as a do it all type back.
Fantasy Outlook- While many think that Kingsbury would be a hinderance to the running game, it actually will be a major boost to David Johnson. When Kingsbury does have talent at the position, he rides them hard as did DeAndre Washington in 2014. Washington had 223 carries for 1,455 yards and 14 touchdowns while catching 30 passes averaging 10.9 yards per reception.
The running game also gets a boost with free agent acquisitions Marcus Gilbert and J.R. Sweezy. I currently have David Johnson as my number five overall player in fantasy football, with a very good chance that it rises into the top-3 come late August.
If you do draft David Johnson, you must handcuff him with Chase Edmonds. The production will drop off a bit if Johnson goes down but Edmonds will be a RB1 the rest of season if the injury bug strikes.
2018 Vegas Win Total The Cardinals current win total is 5 (-120) in Las Vegas, this team is several pieces away defensively from being a contender in a very difficult division. The division starts off with the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams who look poised to win the division again. The Seahawks were a playoff team last year even with one of the youngest rosters in the league, while the 49ers look to take a major step forward with a team that was decimated by injuries early last season. They will have to face a brutal AFC North with three viable playoff teams in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland. I expect this offense to be exciting and play well enough to keep them in a lot of games but with an abysmal defense, it will be too much to overcome as they will win between 4-7 games this season.
