What to Watch for as Cardinals Offense Finishes 2023
It's been quite the season for the Arizona Cardinals.
As crazy as this season has been, perhaps the most 4 important weeks will be the last 4 weeks of this tumultuous season. With that in mind, what should Cardinals fans be looking for from Arizona's offense to finish the year?
Quarterback
Kyler Murray's first four games should not really have surprised anyone to be honest - they look like a quarterback coming off an ACL tear fitting in with many new offensive pieces in a new offense.
So what now?
Continued progress, for one. Kyler had his best game against Pittsburgh one week after perhaps his worst game against the Rams. So while it would be great to have Kyler pass for over 300 yards every game or run for over 100 yards every game - maybe we should be looking more so for incremental improvement.
Hitting a long pass here and there (without drops from the receivers perhaps). Continued pocket awareness. A couple more big runs. Hitting some intermediate passes or touch passes as the pockets collapses.
Running Back
This is much simpler - the Cardinals need to identify if Michael Carter can emerge as a full time complement to James Conner. Emari Demercado has proven that he can operate as a decent RB3 - but Carter could and should be one of the most watched players on this roster.
If Carter has a fantastic last 4 weeks, the Cardinals may be less inclined to spend a premium Day 2 pick on a RB or may simply want to add a veteran or two.
Wide Receiver
There are many questions here and many that unfortunately might not be answered in the next 4 games.
For starters, is Marquise Brown worth bringing back? Of course the price tag is important, but he has not had the jump in stats that many expected with Kyler back on the field. Right now the answer appears to be no - making it very likely the Cardinals draft 1-2 receivers in addition to signing a veteran.
A lesser question to be answered perhaps is can Greg Dortch continue to contribute? If so, will he be a bigger part of the teams plans? Can he perhaps overtake Rondale Moore for the starting slot receiver?
Speaking of Moore, outside of Brown, there is likely not a player that has more to prove. He did have a fantastic catch called back by a suspect holding call but also a big drop against Pittsburgh. Can he prove he needs to be here next season?
And finally, for all their receivers, can they provide Kyler some better help and separation?
Tight End
This may be the easiest position to evaluate given Trey McBride's ascension the last few games. The rest of the season would be used to determine if there is a TE2 on the roster - Geoff Swaim? Elijah Higgins?
Ideally it would be Higgins. Either way, expect the Cardinals to spend a Day 3 pick or pick up a free agent TE this off-season.
Offensive Line
The good news is that the right side with Paris Johnson Jr and Will Hernandez is set.
The bad news? The other side is far from set.
While Hjalte Froholdt has performed well of late, it is fair to wonder if he is their center of the future. If her performs like he did against Pittsburgh he may indeed be.
Left guard is a position that has to be addressed this off-season via the draft or free agency or both. While Trystan Colon has perhaps played the best and is worth bringing back, the other players, mainly Elijah Wilkinson and Dennis Daley, have proven otherwise.
There are also 2 wildcards here - Carter O'Donnell proved he at least deserves a chance to be a backup next year if he continues to play well.
Then what about the ultimate unknown? Jon Gaines will be coming back from injury this off-season.
And finally - what to do at left tackle. D.J. Humphries has appeared to, at best, take a step back this year and is not getting any younger. Do they address in the draft at some point on Day 1 or 2? Likely so - and it would be tough to replace Humphries from a locker room perspective as he appears to be well liked.
