LA Rams Wednesday Walkabout Diner Fare 2.0

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals raised eyebrows in 2020 when they traded for Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins. Will they try to keep up with the arms race in 2021? If so, how will they strategize for the 2021 free agency market?

Jay: Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray were supposed to deliver this year, but instead, they disappointed. That duo couldn’t even get the Cards in the playoffs in a year when the San Francisco 49ers were without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for much of the year.

The team’s most glaring need is cornerback as they have Jonathan Joseph, Dre Kirkpatrick, Patrick Peterson, and Kevin Peterson all slated to leave via free agency. That’s a lot of secondary holes to plug, whether by draft or free agency.

As for their free agency strategy, they also need a capable wide receiver to pair with DeAndre Hopkins, with Larry’s Fitzgerald’s retirement looming. They need a running back because Chase Edmonds is not the answer in the desert. If they were to pick up, say, a Mark Ingram workhorse RB or an Alan Robinson WR, then I might be a little more concerned about the Cards.

They need, they need, they need. It’s difficult for me to be optimistic about the Cards.

Bret Stuter:

The Arizona Cardinals seem to have no pattern, no plan. Their 2020 executed plan seemed to be: “See shiny wide receiver on Texans’ roster, trade for a shiny receiver, throw the ball at him’. When that failed, what was the correction? And what is the plan for 2021?

The Cardinals did a fine job of becoming more competitive in 2020, but now, they must re-sign or replace up to 32 vacancies thanks to the 2021 NFL Free Agency market.  Of course, some players will sign elsewhere. But will the Cardinals retain Patrick Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald, Haason Reddick, and Kenyan Drake this offseason? Even punter Andy Lee will be looking for a big paycheck.

The problem with the Cardinals’ offensive scheme is the height of quarterback Kyler Murray. The offense must move him out of the pocket to give him throwing lanes. But in the process of doing so, they shrink the amount of football field that is in need to be covered by the defense.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Arizona Cardinals have some good pieces, and some not so good pieces. They finished the season with the 12th highest ranked scoring defense in the NFL. While that may not seem stellar, it was a dramatic improvement over their 2019 defense. But once more, is this team ready to take a leap forward this offseason?

Well, they won their first two division games but lost their last four. Until the Cardinals find success in the NFC West, they will remain in NFL limbo. They need a huge presence on the defensive front, and a top-five offensive line to do it. But to get there, they will need to be very strategic and lucky in both the NFL Draft and free agency.