Arizona Cardinals: Final 2019 receivers grade

The Arizona Cardinals Cardinals receivers left some fans with mixed feelings

First of all, the Arizona Cardinals need Larry Fitzgerald to come back for at least one more season.  The transition to a new number one receiver is not complete.

However we are one more year closer to that reality.  That said, the Cardinals will have a number of guys to make decisions on going forward.

Christian Kirk, the expected heir to the throne, had an up and down season. He ended the season with 68 catches for 709-yards but just 3 touchdowns.  Fitz himself had 75 receptions for 804-yard and 4 touchdowns.

The next closest in yards and receptions after that was running back David Johnson.  He saw most of his touches in the first half of the season.  He caught 36 passes for 370-yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Cardinals drafted 3 receivers who were all expected to contribute somewhat in 2019.  However none of them provided any real value to the offense.  Second-round pick Andy Isabella caught just 9 passes for 189-yards, 88 of them coming on a touchdown on Halloween against the San Francisco 49ers.  It would be his lone touchdown of the season.

KeeSean Johnson had just 21 receptions for for 187-yards and 1 touchdown. Hakeem Butler never made it to the regular season after getting hurt during training camp and being placed on injured reserve.

The receivers the Cardinals got a little production of that could be valuable assets in the future are Damiere Byrd and Pharoh Cooper.  Byrd played in 11 games but had 32 receptions for 359-yards and 1 touchdown.  Cooper had 25 receptions for 243-yards and 1 touchdown.

So, they have some decisions to make going into 2020.  Many fans want the Cardinals to draft Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb.  He has officially declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.

However the Cardinals have greater needs they should take care of that early in the draft.  It will be interesting to see if they decide to keep either Byrd or Cooper.  If they keep one, it should be Byrd.

We will also have to see how the 3 rookie receivers develop in the offseason and in training camp.  Don’t be surprised if at least 1 or more don’t make it to the final 53-man roster in September.

Overall, the Cardinals receivers get a C.  So much inconsistency, some of it on them, some of it on luck but all of it true.