Most expected the Cardinals to be bad last year, and they were.
They just weren’t quite bad enough to get a shot at Caleb
Williams... or Jayden Daniels... or Drake Maye. Whether Arizona
would’ve actually pulled the trigger on one of those rookie
signal-callers is purely speculation, whereas the reality of the
situation is that Murray will once again lead the Cardinals, albeit
with a shiny new weapon in the form of Marvin Harrison Jr, who
was selected fourth overall (after those three QBs).
Last season, Murray was working his way back from a torn ACL
suffered on Dec. 12, 2022, and he missed the first nine games
recovering. He returned in November and led the team to a 3-5
record down the stretch, which included wins over playoff teams
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The numbers were decent but unspectacular:
1,799 yards passing, 244 yards rushing, and 13 total TDs -- projected
over a 17-game schedule that comes to 3,823 yards passing, 519
yards rushing, and 28 combined touchdowns.
Those look like plausible numbers for Murray, who should be feeling
better athletically after another full offseason to train, and
getting those games under his belt should’ve knocked off
any rust. Still, there are always going to be durability concerns
for the 5-foot-10, 207-pound quarterback. Beyond his ACL injury,
we’ve seen Murray get banged up every year. It’s not
always to a level that he misses time, but what makes him special
is his ability to extend plays, and that exposes him to hits.
He has some nice ascending weapons with Harrison and Trey McBride,
and a second year under OC Drew Petzing should help as well. Murray
looks like a low-end No. 1 fantasy quarterback for 2024. Just
be sure if you draft him as QB1 that you have a capable backup
as insurance.
RB James Conner
(2023 RB Rank: No.13, 15.5 FPts/G)
One of the NFL’s preeminent bruisers in the backfield, Conner
submitted his most productive season in 2023, at least in terms
of yardage, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in
his career and averaging a robust 5.0 yards per carry -- that
was much more than the 4.2 YPC he averaged during his first six
campaigns.
His exploits as a pass catcher slipped significantly, however,
with 27 grabs being the lowest number since his rookie year (when
he was coming back from a cancer diagnosis and only had 32 total
touches). He found the end zone nine times, which is undoubtedly
a solid number on its own, though after scoring a whopping 18
TDs in 2021, Conner’s 17 combined scores the past two seasons
feel a bit disappointing.
Production on the field is only part of the story with Conner,
though, as the veteran’s health is always front and center.
Across his seven NFL seasons, the Pitt product has never appeared
in every game, and he has missed four games in each of the past
two years. Conner turned 29 back in May, inching ever closer to
the 30-year-old mark that often signals the end for NFL backs,
so don’t expect his durability to improve in 2024. Despite
some concerns, he’s a fringe top-20 back.
Selected near the top of the third round in this year’s
draft, Benson was the second running back off the board after
Jonathan Brooks. At 6-foot, 216 pounds, he has good size, excellent
speed, and is difficult to bring down on first contact. Under
Mike Norvell, Florida State used Benson as their lead back but
didn’t saddle him with heavy usage. That’s good news
on two fronts as he has experience in a committee backfield and
should be fresh.
In addition to his big-play ability, the former Seminole is also
a solid receiver, though there is some question as to how that
fits into Arizona’s scheme. Last season, Conner’s
27 receptions led all Cardinals RBs, which tied with TE Zach Ertz,
who only played in seven games, for fifth on the club. That begs
the question as to how much Arizona will use Benson in that capacity.
Benson, who has drawn comps to former Chargers RB Melvin Gordon,
should be the complement to Conner when he’s healthy. If/when
Conner misses time, though, it remains to be seen how the Cards
view him in terms of a full-time workload. As your fourth or fifth
back, the rookie holds appeal.
With WRs Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore, two of the team’s
top-three wideouts in terms of receiving yards, both gone, there
is an opening atop the depth chart. Enter Harrison, who was the
consensus top receiver in this year’s draft. The Ohio State
product enters the NFL amid tremendous hype -- some considered
him the top overall prospect in this year’s class -- and
checks two boxes for fantasy owners: he’s a rookie receiver,
which is always tempting, and he’s the son of a former prodigious
producer.
In terms of talent, Harrison has elite athleticism, a proven
ability to outfight defensive backs and make last second adjustments
for balls, and route-running acumen that belies his youth. He’s
on another level as a prospect even from the likes of highly touted
receivers like Ja’Marr Chase or former Buckeye teammates
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. If there’s a weakness to
his game, it’s strength, and doubtless teams will try to
jam him at the line to slow him up.
Stepping into a situation where he’s going to function
as the No. 1 receiver is a lot of pressure, but Harrison is well
suited to it, displaying a dedication to his craft passed down
to him from his Hall-of-Fame father. Pairing him with Murray,
who is so good at extending plays, should lead to some big-time
off-schedule production. There’s an argument to be made
that Harrison belongs among the top-10 receivers drafted. While
that might be a tad rich, he’s a legit top-15 option right
now.
With Brown and Moore gone, Wilson is the top returning receiver
for Arizona. A third-round pick a year ago, the 6-foot-2, 213-pounder
experienced an uneven debut season, averaging 43.5 yards per game
-- he did finish on a high note with a season-high 95-yard effort
versus Seattle in Week 18.
A year ago, his size made him stand out among so many small receivers.
That’s no longer the case. Harrison is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. Newly
signed Zay Jones
is 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. Chris Moore, another offseason addition,
is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. Wilson should still have a leg up on
the likes of Jones and Moore, players that have bounced around,
thanks both to his talent and familiarity with the offense, but
he should still be viewed as a work in progress. The best course
of action here is to stick Wilson in your watch list and see how
many targets he gets behind Harrison and McBride.
As mentioned, the receiver room in Arizona has undergone a complete
overhaul. A season ago, Hollywood Brown (5-foot-9, 180 pounds)
and Rondale Moore (5-foot-7, 181 pounds) gave the team a pair
of speedy, undersized options, opening the door for Wilson and,
to a lesser extent, Zach Pascal, to see the field due to their
size. It also froze out Dortch, who is similarly built at 5-foot-7,
175 pounds, and he fell from 52 receptions in 2022 to 24.
Fast-forward to now, and Dortch is the outlier as a small, possession-based
target with a good shot at locking down the slot job this season.
Dortch has produced when given the chance, and he has more history
with Murray than anyone else on the roster. Those in deeper point-per-reception
formats might want to consider Dortch in the final rounds as a
depth flier, or at least add him to their watch list in case he
becomes a popular check-down target for Murray.
Nobody made bigger strides offensively for the Cardinals last
season than McBride. After five games in 2023, the Colorado State
alum had eight receptions for 79 yards and no touchdowns. He’d
finish his second NFL campaign with 81 catches, 825 yards, and
three scores. In the eight games he played with Murray, McBride
posted a 53-538-2 line; if you project that over a 17-game schedule,
that works out to 113 receptions, 1,143 yards, and 4.25 TDs.
Injuries played a part in McBride’s rise to be sure --
Brown, the team’s No. 1 receiver, didn’t catch a pass
after Nov. 26 -- and the arrival of Harrison as what the Cardinals
hope will be a true WR1 puts a slight damper on the third-year
tight end’s outlook. Still, other than Harrison, none of
Arizona’s receiving options look as promising as McBride,
and despite an influx of talent at the position around the NFL,
it’s hard not to view him as a top-five fantasy tight end
for 2024.
