Arizona Cardinals underutilizing their young wide receivers

The Arizona Cardinals youthful pass-catchers have contributed very little to the squad’s offense during the first two weeks

Throughout the 2020 offseason, the Arizona Cardinals heaped praise upon the youngsters in their wide receiver room. The trade for DeAndre Hopkins, coupled with the ongoing presence of Larry Fitzgerald, would hopefully take the opposition’s attention away from the team’s less-experienced pass-catchers. It was a sensible theory, but things have not worked out in the way that the Cards had envisioned.

One Arizona wideout who was supposed to benefit highly from playing behind Hopkins and Fitzgerald is Christian Kirk. The club’s second-round draft pick in 2018 was projected to have a breakout season, three years into his professional career. Two weeks are now in the book, and Kirk has failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him.

During an opening-day victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Kirk was virtually nonexistent. The 5’11, 200 pounder was targeted by quarterback Kyler Murray five times during the matchup, hauling in just one of the passes for a depressing zero yards. Things improved a bit this past Sunday versus the Washington football team, when Kirk tallied two receptions for 57 yards on four targets.

Another young Cardinals receiver who’s been quiet thus far is Andy Isabella. The second-year speedster, who played his college ball at the University of Massachusetts, was completely ignored by Murray in the triumph over San Francisco. This past weekend, Isabella caught two of the three balls thrown in his direction, one of which was a 54-yard bomb in the second quarter against Washington.

KeeSean Johnson, a sixth-round draft selection of the Cards in 2019, was looking to take the next step forward this fall. Unfortunately, the 6’1, 201 pounder was placed on the organization’s Reserve/COVID-19 list on September 11th. Johnson, who registered 21 catches,187 receiving yards and a touchdown as a rookie, was activated off of the list this past Monday by Arizona’s front office.

Kirk, unfortunately, is now dealing with a groin injury. It goes without saying that the Cardinals need much more out of their young whippersnappers. There are 14 games remaining in the 2020 campaign, plenty of time for the “up and coming” wide receivers to give the Cards what they are looking for.