Arizona Cardinals QB ranked 17th in recent PFF QB ranking

Pro Football Focus recently put out its list of the top 32 quarterbacks heading into the 2021 season, and had Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray ranked 17th on the list.

Bruce Gradkowski, who compiled this list, had Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr and Ben Roethlisberger ranked in front of Murray. His reasoning was because he “has to show more development in the intermediate passing (10-19 yards) game, where he ranked 24th while in rhythm.”

To say Murray deserves to be 17th because he needs to develop more as an intermediate passer takes away from the rest of his game. There was a reason he was in the MVP debate before a shoulder injury in week nine caused him to play more conservatively the rest of the season.

He finished as the only quarterback with over 3,500 passing yards and 800 rushing yards, which was due to his ability to get the ball down the field – under head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense – where he ranked fifth in deep ball attempts (70), and 10th in air yards (4,292). The only player ahead of him in deep ball attempts and air yards stats is Matt Ryan, who finished second in both categories.

On top of that, Murray is one of the few quarterbacks who will keep his offensive play-caller. With the Titans, Steelers and Falcons introducing new offensive coaches, and Stafford heading to Los Angeles, one cannot be sure how well these quarterbacks will fare in a new system, whereas Murray and Kingsbury have improved since 2019. The addition of A.J. Green and Rondale Moore – along with year two of DeAndre Hopkins – also means even better numbers for Murray going forward.

So, while Gradkowski might have gotten the top eight correct, Murray rightfully deserves to be included in the top 10. If Gradkowski’s reasoning for his list is going “beyond last season’s performances, and the grading works to isolate each quarterback’s performance from that of his supporting cast…” then there is no reason Murray should be listed as low as he is when he will have one of the best offenses, on paper, going into 2021. Click here see Gradkowski’s complete list.