Examining the Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver corps

While the Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver corps is set for the upcoming season, important decisions will need to be made in 2017

After taking over as GM of the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 Steve Keim went right to work on the roster. At the wide receiver position the team was looking pretty good to say the least. He inherited a future Hall of Famer in Larry Fitzgerald, a first-round draft pick from the year before in Michael Floyd and a fourth-year veteran in Andre Roberts coming off of his finest season.

Keim addressed the position nonetheless, landing two undrafted free agents who to this day remain with the team. One was Jaron Brown who contributed 11 receptions for 140 yards and a TD as the team’s fourth receiver. The other being Brittan Golden, limited to special teams duty as a mid-season signing off the practice squad.

After Roberts bolted for the Washington Redskins in March of 2014 Keim made a brilliant addition to the WR group. He added little known speedster John Brown in the third round of the draft who went on to become the first rookie in NFL history to have four game-winning TDs in a season. He finished his rookie year with 48 receptions for 696 yards and five scores.

Keim appeared to find success at the position again in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, nabbing a tiny, John Brown clone named J.J. Nelson. Nelson grabbed 11 balls for a whopping 299 yards (27.1 YPC) and two TDs in his first season.

So while Keim has built an impressive group of pass-catchers there could be significant changes come next offseason. Fitzgerald, the face of the franchise, and Floyd will both hit free agency barring any extensions before then.

The future of Fitzgerald is completely up in the air. If the Cards were to win Super Bowl LI there’s a chance he could ride off into the Arizona sunset a winner, a perfect send-off to a brilliant, Hall of Fame career. If they were to fall short again would he re-sign with the team once more? Would the Cards even offer him another deal?

Floyd is another interesting case. Given his inconsistency and injury history just how much dough would management be willing to fork over? Would they allow a player with the size, speed and play-making ability that Floyd has to just walk away?

Keim has built a strong receiving corps, part of one of the strongest rosters ever assembled by the organization. However, some important decisions concerning the roster going forward will need to be made next offseason. Some good players may be shown the door and there’s a good chance that not all of them are adequately replaced.

If the Cards are going to win a Super Bowl anytime soon it may need to happen this season, while the roster is still intact and they still possess what may be the best stable of wide receivers in the league.

Enjoy this season Cardinal fans. The window on a championship may be closing quicker than we think.