The Arizona Cardinals appear to have found their quarterback of the future in Kyler Murray. The former No. 1 overall pick was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season after throwing for 3,722 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 64.4 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 544 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Cardinals did finish last in the NFC West with a 5-10-1 record, but this unit as a whole appears to be on the upswing thanks to Murray. While his rookie season was impressive, there is one thing the former Oklahoma star can improve on heading into 2020.
Last year, Murray was sacked 48 times -- which was tied with Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson for most in the league. Naturally, this led to many questioning the offensive line, which Football Outsiders ranked No. 26 in the league when it came to pass protection. However, Murray recently said that "a lot" of those sacks were his fault because of how long he held the ball or how he responded to pressure.
"I don't think I'll be putting those guys in that situation too many times anymore," Murray said, via USA Today. "If it happens, it happens, but I think we'll be a lot better just from experience."
Since Murray is such a quick athlete, there were many times where he tried to escape pressure by running around instead of stepping up in the pocket for example. He was able to pull off heroic plays during his Heisman campaign in Norman, but it proved much more difficult to create that kind of magic at the next level. If anything, this comment proves that Murray is able to recognize one of his shortcomings and improve on the issue moving forward.
While Murray took ownership of most of the sacks last year, Arizona still went out and tried to improve the offensive line this offseason. They re-upped with offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert, who missed all of last year with a knee injury, and also selected former Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones with their third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals also added to their defense and even acquired four-time Pro Bowler wideout DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. With these additions and the maturation Murray is showing this offseason, it's hard not to be excited for Kliff Kingsbury and Co. entering 2020 -- even if they are in one of the toughest divisions in football.
