Three Midseason MVP's for Arizona Cardinals

The midway point of the 2022 regular season is here: Let's hand out some MVP awards.

Things haven't gone exactly to plan for the Arizona Cardinals. 

Entering the season full of hope, a now 3-6 ball club appears to already be planning for the upcoming offseason after a disastrous first half of football. 

Are the Cardinals already out of the race for the NFC West?

Things have been quite rough for Kliff Kingsbury and co. thus far, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been a few shining stars amongst the team. 

As we move towards the second half of the season, let's hand out some MVP awards for the first half of the year:

Arizona Cardinals: Three Midseason MVP's

Honorable Mentions

WR Marquise Brown- Brown's impact while DeAndre Hopkins was out was tremendous, filling in the void of Arizona's WR1 and giving hope to build the best 1-2 punch at receiver upon his return.

S Budda Baker- Baker's play at safety often times isn't seen, but there's a reason why he's considered the best at his position. His ability to play at all three levels will be missed during his absence with a high-ankle sprain. Baker could easily be on the MVP list and there's no arguments against that. 

LB Zaven Collins- Collins has rebounded in a massive way from a poor rookie season, anchoring the middle of Arizona's interior and allowing Isaiah Simmons to be utilized across the field more. Things are finally falling into place for the Tulsa product.

WR DeAndre Hopkins

This is an obvious one, right?

If we're going off most valuable, Hopkins' six game absence proved just how vital he was as Arizona's offense couldn't get anything going without their star receiver. The week of his return, coaches and teammates sang his praises before Hopkins himself delivered in a major way in back-to-back performances. 

"This offseason we talked about just trying to maximize him. Looking at some of the other pieces where he would fit best, and we've made a conscious effort to really try and move him around and do a better job with that," Kliff Kingsbury said earlier in the season. 

His mere presence on the field has altered the way defenses are forced to play the pass while also helping Murray identify coverages early thanks to the defense being forced to be more honest in pre-snap scenarios. 

Upon his return, Hopkins has already proved his weight's worth in gold for the Cardinals. 

CB Byron Murphy

Gone are the days of Patrick Peterson locking down opposing receivers (he still loves to talk about his days with the team), yet the Cardinals have found their CB1 of the present and future in Byron Murphy Jr. 

Murphy has bounced from the slot to the boundary to begin his NFL career, and that versatility has helped transform him into a formidable coverage corner capable of traveling with some of the best receivers in the game:

Davante Adams (2 rec, 11 yards)

Cooper Kupp (4 rec, 44 yards)

DJ Moore (6 rec, 50 yards)

AJ Brown (3 rec, 32 yards)

DK Metcalf (5 rec, 37 yards) 

Justin Jefferson had a tremendous day when Arizona traveled to Minnesota, but every matchup won't be won. 

The Cardinals defense has stepped up for a large portion of the season, partially thanks to the job Murphy has done limiting opposing No. 1 receivers. In an era where each team will have tremendous pass-catchers, it's important to have a corner capable of going stride for stride with some of the best in the league. 

Thus far, Murphy has been him.

DL Zach Allen

J.J. Watt continues to do his thing, and his healthy presence along Arizona's defensive line has been crucial thus far. 

However, the rise of Zach Allen has been impressive to watch when both rushing the passer and stopping the run.

The Cardinals have seen their fourth-year defensive lineman finally piece things together, and that's a scary sight  

“He’s got bigger and stronger since his rookie year,” defensive coordinator Joseph said earlier this season. “That was Zach’s main issue. It wasn’t ability or how he played or his smarts: it was his body. He’s changed his body so now he’s making more plays in the trenches."

The ability to control the trenches has been a big topic of discussion for Arizona this year, and while the Cardinals look for answers at other positions, they can feel good knowing Allen has done a bit of everything extremely well at this point in the season. 

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