Arizona Cardinals: Ranking GM Steve Keim’s 10 best transactions
By Avery Duncan
9. Surrounding Kliff Kingsbury with the talent he needs
Maybe this is premature. After all, Kliff Kingsbury has not yet coached a game for the Cardinals and neither has the talent drafted to help his system run. But this isn’t just about Kingsbury or the players, it’s about Keim recognizing the team’s needs and acting on it in a major way.
The most obvious instance about this notion is the drafting of Kyler Murray and trading away of Josh Rosen. Yes, Rosen may have fit Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense well, but outside of Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes, there isn’t a quarterback to recently enter the league that has a better fit in the Air Raid than Murray.
But it doesn’t stop at Murray. Keim used the 2019 NFL Draft to stock Kingsbury’s cupboard with talent that fits the system. Receivers Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler, and KeeSean Johnson are just that, and he got them for steals in terms of their projected draft range.
This is key, because, when Kingsbury was hired, the Cardinals’ roster simply didn’t have the necessary talent for a high-profile offensive attack. Of course, there is a way to go with the roster — it desperately needs more offensive line talent. But, it’s hard to argue that Keim hasn’t done an excellent job of giving his coach the proper talent to truly bring the Air Raid to the NFL.