Five free agents that make sense for the Arizona Cardinals
Jack Doyle, tight end
Under Steve Keim, the Cardinals have yet to find a clear, long-term starter at the tight end position. Indianapolis Colts free agent tight end Jack Doyle could be the answer to that nagging dilemma.
With a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 76.0, Doyle is the fourth highest rated tight end in free agency. There are, however, a few additional considerations that make Doyle a better option for the Cardinals, than the free agents who grade higher than him.
The first consdieration is age. Doyle will be 27 years old at the start of the 2017 season, while all of the higher rated free agents at his position are in their 30’s. This includes Martellus Bennett, whom ESPN suggested would be a good fit for the Cardinals in a recent Insider piece.
In addition to his age, Doyle is an excellent fit for how the Cardinals utilize the tight end position. In particular, the Cardinals typically look for bigger tight ends, who are capable receivers, and good run blockers. On the other hand, pass blocking is not a priority for tight ends in coach Arians’ offense.
This positional profile can be clearly seen in a cursory analysis of the Cardinals’ tight end snap counts. In 2016, per Pro Football Focus, all of the Cardinals tight ends combined for a total of 583 pass snaps, 606 run blocking snaps, and only 163 pass blocking snaps.
Based on his Pro Football Focus grades, Doyle’s skill set offers a good fit for this profile. His receiving grade is a respectable 74.2, while he grades out better in run blocking (69.4) than he does in pass blocking (47.1). Moreover, at six feet six inches and 267 pounds, Doyle is the kind of big target that Arians prefers in a tight end.
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Though the afore-mentioned Martellus Bennett grades out slightly better than Doyle as a receiver (76.9), Bennett’s blocking does not appear to be a good fit for the Cardinals’ offense, as he is a much better pass blocker (70.5) than he is a run blocker (50.5). Altogether, Doyle offers the Cardinals a younger, better scheme fit than more high-profile options, like Bennett.