Cardinals must help Kyler Murray with a real offensive line

The Arizona Cardinals will want to flirt with an elite playmaker for Kyler Murray, but the focus needs to remain in the trenches for another year.

The Arizona Cardinals have already made their investment. Now it’s time for them to protect it.

One year after the Cardinals held the first-overall selection and wrote quarterback Kyler Murray’s name on the card, the early focus for year two of Murray’s career seemed to be obvious: investment in the trenches.

Lately, however, the buzz has been slowly shifting away from the offensive front toward one of the draft’s elite playmakers.

Let it be said that any team would be improved by adding one of the draft’s top wideouts. CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, or Henry Ruggs III would all give Murray the sort of dependable deep threat that would pay immediate dividends. Patrick has Tyreek. Deshaun has DeAndre. Lamar has Hollywood. Kyler needs his wideout, too.

However, it’s too early in the plan for the Cardinals to pull such a move. While a playmaker on offense is typically not known as a luxury, it is when you’re this thin along the lines. The Cardinals simply have to stick to the script.

Murray on the run

Kyler Murray, who was named the NFL‘s Offensive Rookie of the Year, had a solid season for the Cardinals after being thrown into the fire as a starter from day one. He threw 20 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and completed 64.4 percent of his 542 passes as the Cards finished with a 5-10-1 record.

Murray also added over 500 rushing yards to show his impressive speed, and it was obvious that his ability to keep the play alive also kept the team alive at times they should have already faded.

However, Murray put too much on his shoulders too early, as evidenced by the 17 total miscues (interceptions and fumbles). Murray also led the entire NFL in sacks with 48 with a sack percentage of 8.1. For the sake of comparison, Drew Brees led the league at 3.1 percent, following by Patrick Mahomes (3.4%), Jared Goff (3.4%), Dak Prescott (3.7%) and Tom Brady (4.2%).

It should be noted that many of Murray’s sacks are on him. His playing style led to several rookie mistakes, taking chances that worked in college. He also held onto the ball too long to try to make something work and failed to respect the speed of the pro game. But we’ve seen similar quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson suffer through the same learning curve.

The arguments against drafting OL early

On the surface, there are reasons to believe the offensive line could be improved next year. Unfortunately for Kingsbury, Murray and the rest of the Cardinals franchise, it’s all a mirage.

Just to cover the arguments, let’s go over the starting five:

Left tackle D.J. Humphries is a former first round pick (2015) who was a healthy scratch that entire season. Since then, he’s suffered injuries and inconsistency to the point that the bust status was quickly applied. Fortunately for Arizona, Humphries simply bloomed late and went on to start all 16 games last season. The Cardinals signed him to a lucrative three-year extension earlier this offseason.

Justin Pugh lined up for a full season at left guard after coming over from the New York Giants in free agency. He signed a five-year deal, so the Cardinals certainly hope he continues to provide a solid starter on the left.

In the middle, it’s anyone’s guess what happens between now and Week 1 for the Cardinals. A.Q. Shipley could return after hitting free agency, but how inspiring is that? Well, it’s about as exciting as kicking former third round pick Mason Cole into that spot.

J.R. Sweezy is an option for the Cardinals at right guard but he’s also versatile enough to play all throughout the middle. While he can step in and not embarrass himself, he’s also not the sort of long-term building block needed in front of Murray.

At right tackle, the Cardinals have had just as difficult of a time finding a long-term bookend as they have on the left. Justin Murray surprised the Cardinals as a functional starter in 12 games after coming over from the Raiders and is penciled in for the foreseeable future, barring any further moves.

The mirage in the desert

Here’s the reality facing the Cardinals that needs to be remembered first and foremost: the Cardinals have to protect Kyler Murray at all costs. That means saving him from himself (coaching him on decision-making skills) and via the line.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they simply have too many question marks to roll the dice and ignore the trenches. Humphries averaged seven games per season over the last two years due to injuries. Pugh, injured just as often, averaged a half-game more than Humphries.

Beyond injuries, the overall talent level is also suspect. There’s nothing inspired at center on the roster right now, and the entire right side of the line would do well to be considered league average in 2020. That’s a best-case scenario.

Beyond that, even the depth is atrocious. Marcus Gilbert is an unrestricted free agent, as is tackle Jordan Mills. Same with Shipley and Max Garcia. The Cardinals could bring a number of these players back, but they won’t move the meter on anything but depth at this point.

The answer atop the draft

What the Cardinals need more than anything is a dynamic performer along the offensive line who would immediately raise the profile of all involved. This is where someone like Tristan Wirfs comes into play at No. 8 overall where the Cardinals will be selecting.

It’s possible that one offensive lineman is gone by the time the Cardinals pick, but the team should still have their selection of a few possibilities, Wirfs being a particular favorite. Wirfs comes from the tackle factory known as the University of Iowa and his floor looks like it will be an above average pro with a ceiling of a perennial Pro Bowler.

With a restored Humphries on one side and Wirfs on the other, suddenly the Cardinals have athletic bookends with first round pedigrees who can help keep Murray upright for years to come. In addition, guard play next to them would be improved as the line settles in with new chemistry and players learn from one another.

Even more, injuries are set to happen and player performances will ebb and flow, which makes a stable presence like Wirfs all the more valuable. If Humphries falls off or gets injured again, Wirfs can move to the left side and Murray can step in. Given the overall talent levels here, Murray as swing tackle sounds a lot better.

The Cardinals still have the center problem to solve later in the draft, but they can do so in the middle rounds. They can also still pick up a very nice receiver in Round 2 in a very deep draft for wide receivers (think Brandon Aiyuk or Jalen Reagor). While it might not have the appeal of a Lamb or Ruggs, it’s what is needed right now, like it or not.

The scary thing here is that the Cardinals are already forgetting to look at the organizational playbook just one full year into Kliff Kingsbury‘s stint as head coach. A successful franchise is one that remains undeterred in its plan. A lucky season in 2019 that masked long-term o-line issues shouldn’t be misconstrued for true growth of depth and talent. The Cardinals need a major investment along the line and they need it now.