Arizona Cardinals: 5 second-year players looking to contribute
By Kyler Burd
The Arizona Cardinals took Andy Isabella with the 62nd pick in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. He would be the first of three wide receivers taken in the hopes of surrounding quarterback Murray with a young, dynamic offense.
The wideout from University of Massachusetts was highly touted for his speed, Isabella ran a 4.31 at the NFL Combine, but never got off the ground in his rookie season.
His playing time largely consisted of jet sweeps and other non-receiving duties. His speed meant that defenses were forced to keep track of him when he was on the field, but he was rarely targeted, with only 13 targets and 9 receptions for the year.
Isabella’s big flash of potential came on Halloween night against the eventual NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers. Backed up on the 12-yard line, Murray found Isabella for an 88-yard touchdown where he finally showed off the speed and elusiveness he had been drafted for.
A common complaint with Isabella’s game is his tendency to catch the ball with his body rather than his hands. As impressive as his Halloween touchdown was, he did catch the ball with his entire torso. Concerns with his dependability led to a much smaller workload than many fans expected from the second round pick.
With only 189 receiving yards at the end of the 2019 season, Andy Isabella has a lot left to prove. By the numbers, he is one of the speediest wide receivers in the league, but he has still to earn the trust of Kliff Kingsbury and Murray.