Arizona Cardinals 2020 Season Preview
Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Posted on 6/30/2019.
Arizona Cardinals Free Agency Recap
Arizona got Buffalo Bills tight end Charles Clay to be the new starting tight end. Arizona signed J.R. Sweezy at left guard to replace Mike Iupati. Sweezy was a right guard most of his career, but he showed the ability to transition to left guard when Seattle brought him back in 2018. Arizona also signed former Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Arizona could form a solid offensive line if Sweezy and Gilbert are healthy. Kevin White is a cheap backup for depth that Arizona picked up at wide receiver.
Arizona also switched to a 3-4 defense and signed veterans Terrell Suggs and Brooks Reid to be the pass rushing outside linebackers to their 3-4 defense with Suggs at 3-4 right outside linebacker going up against left tackles and Reid at 3-4 left outside linebacker facing right tackles. Both pass rushers off the edge got one year deals. Arizona also got Jordan Hicks as a second 3-4 middle linebaker. Defensive tackle Darius Philon did well with the Los Angeles Chargers and will compliment Chandler Jones as a 3-4 left end with the size of a 3-4 defensive end at 6-1 286 lbs.
Arizona also signed D.J. Swearinger at free safety as well as Robert Alford as a boundary cornerback to compliment Patrick Peterson. With Patrick Peterson getting a six game suspension these players on the secondary will have to step up.
Arizona Cardinals Draft Recap
The Arizona Cardinals brought in a new quarterback with the first overall pick by taking Heisman Trophy Winner Kyler Murray out of Oklahoma after bringing in a new coaching regime one year after drafting Josh Rosen tenth overall. Arizona also traded Josh Rosen to Miami. Byron Murphy the cornerback they took thirty third overall was supposed to be a nickel cornerback to Patrick Peterson and Robert Alford. Thanks to Peterson's suspension, Murphy will be starting at field cornerback right away next to former Washington strong safety Budda Baker.
Arizona has some other rookies that are backups right now like Zach Allen and Deionte Thompson who are great for depth at the moment and can come in and claim a starting spot if something happens to Arizona at 3-4 defensive end or free safety. Caleb Wilson their seventh round pick is also pushing for that number two tight end spot next to Charles Clay.
Arizona also drafted three wide receivers for depth behind their current three starters Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, and Chad Williams who only lines up on the outside in a three wide receiver set when Kirk moves to the slot. The three receivers Arizona drafted include Andy Isabella from Massachusetts, Hakeem Butler from Iowa State, and KeeSean Johnson from Fresno State.
Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Summary: Arizona has a much clearer picture at the quarterback pposition. After having Sam Bradford, Mike Glennon, and Josh Rosen play quaterback hot potato, Arizona has a much clearer picture as to who their starting quarterback will be in 2019. Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Murray will start right away giving the Cardinals way more clarity at the quarterback position.
Arizona has a new staff when it comes to developing quarterbacks. Kliff Kingsbury got hired to be the head coach and offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals meaning Kingsbury will call plays on offense. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements will be the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, but Kingsbury is calling plays which is smart since Mike McCarthy took play calling duties away from Clements in Green Bay.
Arizona Cardinals Running Back Summary: David Johnson is an awesome pass catching running back who will have to step up to take pressure off of rookie quarterback Kyler Murray. James Saxson is taking over as the running backs coach and he's one of the best running backs coaches in the NFL. Saxson spent the past five years as the running backs coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver Summary: Arizona has Larry Fitzgerald as their main go to guy. They have other receivers like Christian Kirk to compliment Fitzgerald in a two wide receiver set. Or Arizona can use Fitzgerald and Chad Williams on the outside with Kirk playing inside the slot. Arizona also added Kevin White as a backup along with the three rookies they drafted in Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler, and KeeSean Johnson. David Raih is the new wide receivers coach. He did an awful job as the wide receivers coach in Green Bay, but maybe things will be different in Arizona since he has better weapons to work with along with familiarity with Kliff Kingsbury.
Arizona Cardinals Tight End Summary: Charles Clay is now the starting tight end with Ricky Seals-Jones being the backup tight end. Also Mr. Irrelevant the third string tight end Caleb Wilson is impressing to the point where he is pushing both Charles Clay and Ricky Seals-Jones. Steve Heiden got promoted to tight ends coach after being an assistant offensive line coach.
Arizona Cardinals Offensive Line Summary: D.J. Humphries did well at left tackle last year after transitioning from right tackle to left tackle. Left guard J.R. Sweezy showed he could play left guard after being a right guard his entire career. Mason Cole was so impressive as a rookie that he snagged the starting center job from A.Q. Shipley. Now Arizona has a great center as well as a good center for depth. Justin Pugh did well at right guard. Arizona signed right tackle Marcus Gilbert from Pittsburgh. Sean Kugler is a good offensive line coach for Arizona since he developed Marcus Gilbert with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out of Florida. Will Holden is the backup right tackle who would step in if Gilbert gets injured again.
The Cardinals have a lot of offensive talent. I feel like they will be much better in rushing yards and they could be good, but not great in passing yards if Kyler Murray continues to showcase his outstanding throwing power and throwing accuracy in the NFL. I'm not sure how Arizona will fare in points scored or total yards, but this will be a fun team to watch throughout the season.
Arizona Cardinals Defensive Line Summary: Arizona is moving back to a 3-4 defense after moving to a 4-3 defense in 2018. Chandler Jones and Darius Philon will be the starting 3-4 defensive ends. Arizona also has Corey Peters as their starting nose tackle. Arizona has great depth at 3-4 defensive end with Zach Allen and Robert Nkemdiche as their backup 3-4 defensive ends in at 5-technique. Chris Achuff will take over as the defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona Cardinals Linebacker Summary: Arizona has Terrell Suggs and Brooks Reid as their starting 3-4 outside linebackers. The Cardinals also have Haason Reddick and Jordan Hicks as their 3-4 middle linebackers.
Bill Davis is the new linebackers coach. He will coach both the outside and inside linebackers.
Arizona Cardinals Defensive Backs Summary: Arizona got Robert Alford in Free Agency and Byron Murphy in the draft to compliment Patrick Peterson. The Cardinals have Budda Baker finally starting at strong safety and D.J. Swearinger at free safety. Arizona also added Deionte Thompson for depth at free safety.
Vance Joseph is back as Arizona's defensive coordinator. Greg Williams is now the cornerbacks coach while Marcus Robertson is now the defensive backs coach. I feel like Arizona made the necessary upgrades in the secondary. Arizona struggled last year due to lousy cornerback play across from Patrick Peterson.
Arizona could have a really good defense if everyone is healthy. Arizona's transition to a 3-4 won't be as problematic as them moving to a 4-3 since they ran a 3-4 two years ago. With a shored up secondary and more depth then ever at 3-4 defensive end to compliment older 3-4 outside linebackers, I think this defense will surprise people.
Arizona Cardinals Special Teams Summary: Zane Gonzalez is Arizona's new kicker with Andy Lee at punter. You got D.J. Foster set to be a kick returner. and Patrick Peterson as a punt returner. The rest of Arizona's special teams needs work. Amos Jones is an effective, but not great special teams coordinator.
Arizona Cardinals Worst Case Scenario: Last year, I said Arizona goes 1-15 with all these adjustments. As a result they are the NFL's worst team in 2018 for my worst case scenario. Since that worse case scenario came to fruition, I'll say their worst case scenario in 2019 is that they go 3-13. Arizona has a much easier schedule and if Kyler Murray plays well this team will surprise people.
Arizona Cardinals Best Case Scenario: Arizona goes 11-5. They start 7-0 due to an easy strength of schedule before a week 8 loss to New Orleans. They manage to start the year 11-3 in position to win the NFC West before losing the final two games only to get a wild card.
Arizona Cardinals 2019 NFL Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
Cable Network |
Result |
Week 1 |
September 8 |
VS  |
4:25 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 2 |
September 15 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 3 |
September 22 |
VS  |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 4 |
September 29 |
VS  |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 5 |
October 6 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 6 |
October 13 |
VS  |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 7 |
October 20 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 8 |
October 27 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 9 |
October 31 |
VS  |
8:20 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 10 |
November 10 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 11 |
November 17 |
AT |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 12 |
|
Bye Week |
|
|
|
Week 13 |
December 1 |
VS  |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 14 |
December 8 |
VS  |
4:25 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 15 |
December 15 |
VS  |
4:05 PM EST |
FOX |
W |
Week 16 |
December 22 |
AT |
4:25 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 17 |
December 329 |
AT |
4:25 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
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