In a 32-part series leading up to the start of the 2021 National Football League season, we will take a look at each NFL franchise from a fantasy perspective. The first team we will review is the Arizona Cardinals.
When you think of the Cardinals, one player instantly comes to mind and that is quarterback Kyler Murray. The 24-year-old native of Bedford, TX had a wonderful collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2018.
Since being drafted first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft, Murray has shown significant progression. In 2020, he completed 375 passes for 558 attempts with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, the one statistic where Murray improved the most was the number of times he was sacked. After leading the NFL by being sacked 48 times in his rookie season of 2019, he was only sacked 27 times in 2020. To start the year, Murray is ranked fifth among NFL quarterbacks in fantasy.
Another reason for Murray’s progression in 2020, was the fact he had a go-to elite receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. The veteran wideout was spectacular as he had 115 catches, which broke an Arizona single-season record. Hopkins came to Arizona in a bizarre, lopsided trade with Houston for running back David Johnson on March 20, 2020. Among NFL wideouts, Hopkins is ranked 10th in fantasy.
When it comes to running back, James Conner and Chase Edmonds should be considered in the second tier, as there appears to be a job share on the horizon. Conner comes to Arizona from Pittsburgh, where he had 936 yards last year. A reason why Conner was brought into the Arizona backfield is because Kenyan Drake signed with the Las Vegas Raiders at the beginning of NFL free agency. At first glance, the decision by the Drake camp to sign with Vegas was a little surprising because the Raiders already had a dependable running back in Josh Jacobs. Now it appears Vegas will have a timeshare at running back too, which is a nightmare for fantasy owners.
Finally on defense, one might have thought the Cardinals would be considered stronger with the acquisition of J.J. Watt from the Texans and cornerback Malcolm Butler from the Tennessee Titans but surprisingly, they are only drafted in 9% of fantasy leagues at the moment.
The Cardinals have become a veteran team with a young, mobile quarterback at the helm. It will be interesting to see if they improve from their 8-8 record from last season.
