Arizona Cardinals Use Hyperbole to Discuss Wide Receiver Corps

The Arizona Cardinals have a very capable and talented offensive group.

Let's start there.

David Johnson is perhaps the best running back in the NFL. The wide receivers, meanwhile, give Carson Palmer enough options that he can effectively move the ball down the field if given enough time by the offensive line. And apparently this is one of the best wide receiver groups Arizona Cardinals fans have ever seen, according to the best individual wide receiver we have definitely ever seen.

Josh Weinfuss of ESPN collected the following quote from Larry Fitzgerald:

"This is the really, legitimately the first time in a long, long time that I can remember that all the guys even from the draft guys to the undrafted free agents, everybody can play. Everybody. There's no guy that you can say, ‘Oh, he's a camp body.' I would say every single guy in our room could play. They can run. They can jump. They got good hands. They have what it takes to be an NFL receiver."

Just yesterday, Seth posted an article that referenced a recent Bleacher Report rankings that has the Cards wide receiver group as the 25th best in the NFL. That seems a bit low, and in all reality, they are probably somewhere around the middle of the pack. But what bothers me more than these arbitrary rankings is Fitzgerald's assessment that this is the best wide receiver group he has been around in such a long time.

We know Bruce Arians is known for his bravado. For him to say that the 12 players they have in their wide receiver room could make any roster in the league is pretty much nonsense. We haven't even seen many of these guys play a down of real football in the NFL before.

Fitz's comments are a bit more surprising. Obviously, it depends on what a 'long, long time means to you', but he has played with some very talented groups over the years. Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston, Andre Roberts, etc. have all been successful in Arizona playing alongside Fitzgerald. Granted, Fitzgerald meant that the group as a whole is one of the best he has played around, but it is hard to imagine that when the top of the group has so many questions going into the season.

Jaron Brown is coming off an ACL injury. John Brown played all of last season with a sickle cell trait and a cyst on his spine. J.J. Nelson dealt with inconsistencies last season in terms of drops and fumbles. Then you have a bunch of rookies and undrafted guys or journeymen. The only real constant that we know we can count on is Fitz.

What do you think? Are Fitz and Bruce Arians trying to talk themselves into this being a great wide receiver group or are they onto something that people like me just can't see yet?