Arizona Cardinals: 3 inconvenient truths about Kyler Murray

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray showed flashes of brilliance in his first three seasons. In Year Four, he took an infamous step back.  

Kyler Murray won Rooke of the Year honors in 2019 and has been a two-time Pro Bowler, so the former Heisman Trophy winner definitely has some accolades. But popularity contests don’t translate to division titles, playoff victories, and definitely not Super Bowl appearances.

Starting in the latter half of last season, Murray started to take a step back, and he was rewarded with a new, long-term contract that intends to keep him in the desert as the Cardinals franchise quarterback. But Murray has done nothing to give the Red Sea true hope that he can be that quarterback.

Two weeks ago, Colt McCoy made it clear that the Cardinals offensive struggles weren’t exclusive to just head coach Kliff Kingsbury (even if that narrative changed somewhat following the Monday Night Debacle). Murray definitely needs to shoulder some of the blame too, and own up to some inconvenient truths that date back to last season. Let’s explore the top three.

Truth #1 – Murray is 5-11 in his last 16 starts

In 10 of his last 16 starts, Murray did not have star receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and he went 3-7 in the process. But it wasn’t like he didn’t have sound skill position players on the field. In those 16 starts, he had Zach Ertz. And in the final six starts, he had both Ertz and his former college teammate, Marquise Brown.

Yet Murray still couldn’t win games regularly. He threw just 19 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions, and 3,679 passing yards, roughly 229 per game. His average yards per pass attempt has also dropped close to Blaine Gabbert status, at just 6.0, a career low by nearly a yard.

Truth #2 – Murray’s YPA has dipped below 7.0 in 11 of his last 16 starts

I’ve noted in a previous article that Murray reminds me of Jeff George, but he also reminds me A LOT of Tim Couch. Couch never threw higher than a 6.9 YPA and finished with a pedestrian 6.5.

One reason behind this was Couch’s tendency to throw the ball underneath, rarely trying for big plays. Contrast Couch’s YPA with Kelly Holcomb, and it’s easy to see why Holcomb won the job over Couch. In 2002, the career-backup averaged 7.5 yards per attempt, sparking a quarterback controversy.

Though Holcomb’s production dipped when he won the job in 2003, it also shows why Couch flamed out in the NFL. Not only was he constantly injured (another issue regarding Murray); but it seemed like he never played to win, and it’s something we have seen a lot from Murray in 2022.

Truth #3 – 80.5 passer rating or lower in 4 of 6 starts without Hopkins

Let’s go back to DeAndre Hopkins real quick. Looking at Murray’s passer rating without Hopkins this season, it dropped to 80.5 or lower on four different occasions.

Murray, a former number one overall pick, is supposed to lift a team in the face of adversity, but he failed to make the Arizona Cardinals offense click without its star player. Even if he had Brown, Ertz, and speedsters in Greg Dortch and later, Rondale Moore.

Sure, his line suffered injuries, but this should also be lesser of an issue with Murray, who is a dual threat quarterback, and therefore, should be more than capable of extending plays with his legs. He hasn’t, and it’s another reason he’s headed toward disappointment status.

Is Kyler Murray a bust? No. But he is also an underachiever as far as first overall picks go. He is no Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, or Zach Wilson (selected number two overall in 2021), but he is more of a Jeff George/Jameis Winston type at this point in his career.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)

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