5 biggest takeaways from the Cardinals win over the Jaguars in Week 3
By Kyler Burd
Murphy just keeps getting better
The surprise retirement of Malcolm Butler before the season caused fans to ask, “Who is CB1?” Well, Byron Murphy has stepped up in a major way and has seemingly solidified himself as the top cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
A second-round pick in 2019, Murphy struggled some in his rookie year after being thrown outside after Patrick Peterson’s six-game suspension. He returned to his comfortable spot in the slot in 2020 and showed improvement, but his improvement this year has shown he is a more than capable NFL starter.
On Sunday, Murphy might have singlehandedly turned the tides of the games with an interception off Trevor Lawrence that he took 29-yards to the house for a touchdown that put the Cardinals back in the driver’s seat with a 24-19 lead.
He is currently second in the NFL for interceptions and interceptions returned for touchdowns and first in passes breakups with 5 through 3 games. He is ranked 10th among cornerbacks in coverage grades with an average of 77.4 according to PFF.
The growth of Byron Murphy could be one of the top storylines of the 2021 season for Arizona Cardinals fans to track.