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Arizona Cardinals tight end Dan Arnold is underutilized

By Aarron Van Buren

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 25: Tight end Dan Arnold #85 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the football after a reception against the Seattle Seahawks during the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Seahawks 37-34 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 25: Tight end Dan Arnold #85 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the football after a reception against the Seattle Seahawks during the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Seahawks 37-34 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Arizona Cardinals tight end Dan Arnold has had a long road to the NFL, and now he is ready to contribute and has shown flashes of greatness this year.

Dan Arnold played high school ball in Illinois and South Dakota. He then returned home to his native Wisconsin to play football for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the uber competitive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). He went undrafted, made the Saints’ roster and caught a great touchdown from Drew Brees.

He was claimed off waivers and finally landed with the Cardinals on December 5th of last year.  He made an instant impact in his very first game for big red, making another sensational catch for a touchdown against Cleveland, and doubled-down with another touchdown in the season finale against the Rams. So far this season he has 20/286/3, and is the weapon the Cardinals need to rely on to change things up in the passing game.

His athleticism creates a mismatch with linebackers, with great cuts and speed to blow by defenders. Arnold has shown he has the ability to high-point passes and go snag jump balls. So why hasn’t he had a more prominent role in the offense? One reason why is that the Cardinals haven’t had great tight ends in their history besides  the days of Jay Novacek and Jackie Smith. In fact, Arnold is the first tight end since Jeff King to have 3 TD’s in a season, which was 9 years ago.

It also comes down to Kliff’s offense of using his actual receivers to be in his usual 10 personnel. But Arnold grew up playing WR, and if it wasn’t Saints coach Dan Campbell, Arnold may not be in the league. The point is Arnold has WR-like hands and skillset, and is the polar opposite of his cohort, Maxx Williams. Especially with more emphasis to run the ball because of Murray’s shoulder being dinged up, Arnold won’t see the field due to a size disadvantage.

This shouldn’t stop the Cardinals from using his skillset. Employ him with more 11 personnel formations, attempt some middle screens, or use him as the third read on play action passes with him running shallow across the field. This would get him into space and let him take over. However they try to get him the ball, it certainly can’t hurt with the way the season is going.

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He may just turn into our own version of George Kittle, with a completely different look.

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