With a new coach and new management, anything can happen, so don’t let it surprise you if the Arizona Cardinals scout a few high-end QBs for 2024.
Let’s face it: Quarterback Kyler Murray is just about out of chances. While we can point the finger at Kliff Kingsbury’s sheer ineptitude all we want, there is a plethora of ‘what-ifs’ we can make for other former top picks and their underachievements.
What if Tim Couch went to someone other than an expansion team? David Carr? What if Jameis Winston walked into a better situation in Tampa Bay?
As it stands, Murray has never won anything next to Rookie of the Year honors and a pair of Pro Bowl appearances. Now, we don’t know what he will look like when he inevitably returns from a torn ACL.
Therefore, the Cardinals need some type of contingency plan. And with two first round picks next season, chances are, they could wind up taking a quarterback. So who are the five best options to scout next season as a starting point? Keep reading for more.
Arizona Cardinals should consider the following quarterbacks
5 - Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Let’s begin with a small school stud who could work his way up the boards. Grayson McCall, 6’3, 210lb, has decent size, but his experience impresses me more than anything else. Between 2019 and 2022, McCall has 35 starts, and he’s led what has become a consistent Coastal Carolina Chanticleers team.
McCall also takes good care of the football, having thrown just eight career interceptions and 78 touchdown passes. He also has 10.2 career yards per attempt, and a 70.6% career completion percentage. He doesn’t throw the ball often, and, of course, his competition isn’t the fiercest, so he’ll have to prove he can take on NFL-caliber defenses in 2023 with a potential Senior Bowl invite.
4 - K.J. Jefferson, Arkansas
Don’t let K.J. Jefferson’s 6’3, 245lb frame fool you. He is a dual threat quarterback, having racked up 640-plus rushing yards in each of the last two seasons and 15 total rushing touchdowns. And like McCall, Jefferson rarely turns over the rock, with 10 career interceptions, and 48 touchdown passes. He also has a 67.3% completion percentage or higher over the past two years.
Jefferson, however, has not been asked to throw much, and it’s unclear whether he’s the type of field general you need if you’re drafting a quarterback early. Murray has thus far shown he’s not that kind of quarterback either, and the Arizona Cardinals can’t make the same mistake twice.
3 - Bo Nix, Oregon
Every year, you find a top quarterback who has that “late bloomer” ring to their game. Bo Nix is that potential player in 2024. While at Auburn in 2019 and 2020, Nix’s production was rather marginal, and it was more of the same old, same old in 2021.
Come 2022, he transferred to Oregon, where he completed 71.9% of his passes for 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Look for 2023 to be Nix’s make it or break it season, but if he has another year like he did in 2022, he could surpass the top two talents on the board.
2 - Caleb Williams, USC
Caleb Williams had a legendary year in Southern California, tossing 42 touchdown passes, five interceptions, 9.1 yards per attempt, 4,537 passing yards, and a 66.6% completion percentage. The kid was phenomenal in every aspect, so why is Williams sitting at Number Two?
Honestly, his size is concerning, at just 6’1, 218lb, putting him on the shorter side. So is Murray, so once again, you ask yourself, should the Arizona Cardinals go after yet another smallish quarterback when you got the likes of Bo Nix, K.J. Jefferson, plus the Number One prospect on this list?
1 - Drake Maye, North Carolina
And finally, we got Drake Maye. Standing at 6’5, 220lb, Maye played at another level last season at the University of North Carolina, completing 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions, with 8.4 yards per pass attempt.
Maye doesn’t have a lot of experience, having played in just 16 career games. But it matters little. If he has a year in 2023 identical to the one he had last season, there is no contest-Drake Maye will go first overall to whichever quarterback-needy team is there for the taking.
Maybe the Arizona Cardinals are absolutely abysmal in 2023, before and after Murray’s return. And if that’s the case, perhaps they can remedy that with a player like Maye, who could ultimately receive a higher draft grade than the likes of Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. Regardless of whether it's the Cardinals or someone else, whoever selects Maye just set themselves up for the next 15 seasons. At least those are my current vibes.
(Statistics provided by Sports-Reference/CFB)