The Arizona Cardinals updated their depth chart with a few changes, most notably a quarterback switch: Gardner Minshew QB1, Carson Beck QB2, and Jacoby Brissett QB3.
That's the right decision by Mike LaFleur after seeing how much better Arizona's offense flowed when Minshew led their Week 8 comeback over the Dallas Cowboys. However, Minshew now faces a tougher challenge ahead, with the Cardinals set to play the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on the road.
To make matters worse, Minshew won't have many pass-catching weapons at his disposal. That was previously seen as a strength for Arizona heading into the season, as they initially kept seven receivers on the 53-man roster.
Now heading into Week 9 against Seattle, the WR2 lining up alongside Michael Wilson is... Simi Fehoko?
Cardinals' WR room is falling apart at midseason
Fehoko deserves a ton of credit for his special teams contributions, even winning Special Teams Player of the Week all the way back in the Cardinals' Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. But there's a reason he was still on the roster bubble despite the special teams contributions, as this isn't necessarily someone you want out there running routes next to Wilson and tight end Trey McBride.
That's not quite the vision LaFleur probably had when picturing what this offense could become under his system. But it's unfortunately the reality the Cardinals have had to deal with.
Some of that stems from draft mistakes by GM Monti Ossenfort, specifically the Marvin Harrison Jr. blunder, which is officially a bust for Arizona after they traded him to the Houston Texans for a package headlined by a second-round pick.
Some of that has also been due to unfortunate injuries. Kendrick Bourne suffered a fractured tibia in his right leg, landing him on injured reserve and ending his season. Jalen Brooks previously announced on his personal Instagram account that he's also out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery.
Behind Wilson and Fehoko on the depth chart are UDFA Harrison Wallace III and fifth-round rookie Reggie Virgil, respectively.
Despite the top five draft investment in Harrison and the three-year, $75 million extension with Wilson, Ossenfort still managed to assemble one of the worst receiving rooms in the league. It's contributed to Brissett's early-season struggles and presents a major hurdle for Minshew to overcome as well.
It's easy to overlook those flaws against a Cowboys defense that has even more holes to fill. But against a stout Seattle secondary on the road, I wouldn't feel comfortable heading into the matchup with Simi Fehoko as my WR2.
Hopefully he has a breakout game and proves me wrong, but this is more so just about the lack of depth in this receiving unit as a whole. It's been a carousel of receivers forced to step up because of one injury after another. This time it's Fehoko's turn, though we're skeptical this won't become a bigger issue than it already is.
It puts the Cardinals in a strange position heading into the Nov. 10 trade deadline. They're most likely going to be sellers given their 3-5 record, but they could still benefit from a trade on the margins to add receiving help. Someone like Colts' Josh Downs or Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. could make sense, for instance, depending on the asking price.
They need to be young enough to fit the Cardinals' rebuilding timeline, as it's not just about Minshew but also, more importantly, about addressing the infrastructure as a whole. Hopefully Arizona addresses the quarterback position in the first round of the draft regardless of how Minshew performs after this midseason swap. And whoever that new face will be, they'll need to be surrounded by strong offensive weapons to make the transition to the NFL as seamless as possible.
The Cardinals are already on their way with McBride and running back Jeremiyah Love, if he can stay healthy, but now it's time to address the offensive line and pass-catching groups. The once-promising receiver depth has quickly faded, exposing a major roster weakness for Arizona this season.
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