Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart 2020 Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart

Preseason Analysis: A New Era in Arizona

Rookie expectations for Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray has the chance to be a great dual threat QB early in his career but that will by no means take any pressure off the #1 overall pick. He’s a great signal caller who will prove to be great under pressure though it remains to be seen whether he can actually live up to his expectations. From preseason action, he’s got great poise and pocket presence, using his legs to get out of tough situations multiple times.

In his first preseason action against the Chargers, he looked very confident delivering the ball both in the pocket and on the run. There was great accuracy and pocket presence and this looks to be the beginning of a very promising career. While he doesn’t have the same amount of weapons, Murray could be the Baker Mayfield of this year and exceed everyone's initial expectations. While it’s hard to predict how Murray will fare in regular season action when everything’s on the line, it’s no doubt that his play will be a major storyline for the future of the Arizona franchise.

Managing Patrick Peterson’s absence early in the year

Patrick Peterson has been a staple in the Arizona secondary since joining the team back in 2011. However, a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy will land him on the sidelines for the first six games of the year. Without his presence, the Cardinals are missing out on a 8 time Pro Bowler and 3 time All-Pro who anchors the cornerback position and consistently takes away the opposing team’s top wideout. 

The Cardinals will certainly hope to get him back sooner rather than later though their early season schedule doesn’t present too many offensive weapons to worry about. Among their first six games, the only two clear elite wide receivers to worry about are AJ Green and Julio Jones. Among the other opponents, the Arizona secondary should be able to handle the Lions, Ravens, Panthers, and Seahawks receivers fairly decently. Nevertheless, the defensive unit didn’t improve too much from last year and will have to count on Murray to do most of the heavy lifting anyways. 

Does Larry Fitzgerald have anything left in the tank?

After a 15 year NFL career, does Larry Fitgerald have anything left? His numbers have been on a decline in the past year and without him getting any younger, it’s hard to imagine being anywhere close to the player he once was. While he’s certainly serviceable, I expect Fitzgerald to be more of a mentor moving forward and attempting to help the younger guys better assimilate into the league. 

Over his career, Fitzgerald has been a starter and will likely step back into that role this year. However, he might move into WR2 on the depth chart if Arizona decides to give Christian Kirk a more dominant role in the offense. He caught only 734 yards last year which was surprisingly his career low. The 6 TDs are nice and the addition of Kyler Murray will certainly help. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald might not be the same player he was once and you can’t exactly count on a 1,000 receiving yard season anymore.