Christian Kirk might be the most underappreciated Arizona Cardinal

While Arizona Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk may not be the successor to Larry Fitzgerald, he could still play an important role in the team’s passing attack

With the Arizona Cardinals addition of DeAndre Hopkins, and the always reliable Larry Fitzgerald, fans might think Christian Kirk’s role with the team is diminished. However, Kirk could possibly be the benefiting factor from all this now that opposing teams will focus more on Hopkins and Fitzgerald.

In Kirk’s rookie season with former Cardinals QB Josh Rosen, he caught 43 passes for nearly 600 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games. Had it not been for an injury to his foot that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season, Kirk could have gone for nearly 800 yards with over 60 receptions.

Kirk also had glimpses in his rookie season where he showed signs of being a threat. In week three of the 2018 season, he caught seven receptions for 90 yards.

In week five, he had three receptions for 85 yards. In week 10, he went for 77 yards on three receptions.

In his second season, with rookie QB Kyler Murray, Kirk had career highs in almost every category, and could have gone for 1,000 yards had he played all 16 games. In 13 games with the Cardinals in 2019, Kirk had over 700 yards with 68 receptions and three touchdowns.

His season with Murray looked more promising than with Rosen, as he had more flashes of entering a breakout year. In week two of the 2019 season, Kirk had 114 yards on six receptions. In week seven, he broke his career high in yards with 138 on six receptions. Kirk was also target 40 more times in 2019 than he was in 2018.

While Kirk has only had two 100-yard games, he can be used as a deep threat with Fitzgerald and Hopkins as decoys.  While some fans are already trying to move on from him, others believe this upcoming season could be his best yet. It all depends on how Kingsbury decides to use him because of the impact Hopkins will now have on the field.