The Arizona Cardinals should finally catch a break in a Week 4 showdown against the Carolina Panthers, a team that has struggled out of the gate.
The Arizona Cardinals offense has looked totally pedestrian in all but one half in 2022. The good news, however, is that their slow start might motivate head coach Kliff Kingsbury to let quarterback Kyler Murray play the game in a more unorthodox way.
Then again, Kingsbury is not John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, or Nick Sirianni, three coaches who maximized their dual threat quarterbacks in the past and present. Even more impressive? Neither Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Jalen Hurts are the most gifted passers when it comes to accuracy. Yet here they are, pacing the quarterback rankings along with Patrick Mahomes.
Harbaugh, McDermott, and Sirianni play to their quarterbacks’ strengths while Kingsbury continues to try and mold Murray into an “Air Raid” quarterback. So far, that experiment is going to waste. But maybe we’ll see something different this week.
Arizona Cardinals: Who to start/sit in Week 4 – START Darrel Williams
Wait? What? Darrel Williams? James Conner landed on the injury report twice in as many weeks, taking limited reps in practice as of Thursday. Conner has averaged a whopping 3.0 yards per carry on 90 rushing yards this season – on pace for a 510-yard season if anyone’s doing the math.
Given his injuries and lack of production, sooner or later something needs to change. Given Williams’ overall effectiveness when he gets a chance, he looks like the safer selection this week. So if you happen to play in a larger league and you have him in fantasy, he might just reward you with a breakout game. He’s worth taking a chance on this week.
SIT Zach Ertz
Ertz has yet to score double-digit fantasy points in a game all season if you play in standard leagues. While he remains an effective tight end and a reliable target, he is no more than a TE2 on most fantasy rosters, having averaged just 7.133 points per week.
Until he gets more involved in the Arizona Cardinals offense, it’s smart to sit him for the foreseeable future unless you play in larger leagues.
START Marquise Brown
If you have Kyler Murray AND Brown on your team, start them both, as this connection is just now starting to heat up. As teammates in college, Murray and Brown already built chemistry, but now it’s starting to show.
Brown has a team-high 24 receptions and 251 receiving yards, putting him on pace for 1,422 yards and 136 catches. While the Panthers have a decent pass defense, it is starting to get tough for even the best defenses in football to stop this combo. Unlike Ertz, start Brown every week until opponents prove they can stop the Murray-Brown connection.
Update: Brown is currently listed as Questionable for the game.