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With the offseason in full swing and less and less of actual football to discuss, we are hypothesizing, ranking and debating.
NFL.com broke down each NFC West teams projected starting lineup, let’s take a look at what they have for the Arizona Cardinals offense, as there are a couple of surprises.
OFFENSE PLAYER
QB Kyler Murray
RB James Conner
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR A.J. Green
WR Christian Kirk
WR Rondale Moore
LT D.J. Humphries
LG Justin Pugh
C Rodney Hudson
RG Justin Murray
RT Kelvin Beachum
A couple of their thoughts and reasonings:
Check out that four-wide set above, just like we dreamed about when Kliff Kingsbury took over in Arizona! Now the Cardinals finally have the personnel to pull off the Air Raid-lite look with a quartet of wideouts possessing varied skill sets.
Kingsbury learned that he needs tight ends at times for his running game, but they no longer have a true pass catcher at the position. That’s why I’d expect rookie slot receiver Rondale Moore and free-agent import A.J. Green to wind up playing more than starting tight end Maxx Williams.
I dig Chase Edmonds as much as the next frustrated fantasy owner and would love to see him get more than 150 touches. But the Cardinals signed James Conner for a reason, and Kingsbury said what he thinks of Edmonds with the back’s usage over the last two seasons. Perhaps Edmonds gets close to 50 percent of the workload, but Conner figures to at least split time.
I do tend to agree with the idea we could see more of the spread and air raid that we have expected from Kliff Kingsbury when he came to the desert, but I think the starting personnel will still be out of 11 personnel: three wide receivers, one running back, one tight end.
I’d flop Moore out for Maxx Williams as the starter.
I also think that Edmonds will be the starter at running back, the reason for James Conner’s presence was more of insurance, since Edmonds has not shown when he is given a sustained role he can manage the wear and tear. If he were to struggle with that role it is easier to go to Conner with him in house over the offseason.
What do you think?