ESPN was very nice the other day to the Arizona Cardinals, ranking their offensive weapons as the sixth best in the NFL.
Yet, on Tuesday they brought a different take from ESPN and that is that they had the worst offseason of any team in the NFL.
From ESPN:
Arizona Cardinals: D
Biggest move: Releasing QB Kyler Murray
Move I liked: Signing G Isaac Seumalo
Move I disliked: Drafting RB Jeremiyah Love at No. 3
It is an interesting grade, but it makes some sense in a couple of way:
- The team has no plan at the quarterback position, so you made a big move in releasing Murray with no clear plan on what the next step would be. We discussed, the connection to Malik Willis, Jimmy Garappolo and Ty Simpson in the offseason meant that Jacoby Brissett was not necessarily plan A… or B… maybe not even plan C. And now, that backup plan is just holding out.
- A bad defense improved by adding… instead they opted for what fans hope is the best player in the draft in Jeremiyah Love, but his added value is not enough for ESPN.
While their Murray process was not ideal, what
the Cardinals did in the first round of the draft — selecting Love with the No. 3 pick — was a much easier mistake to avoid.
Let me be clear — Love is an exceptional running back prospect. But to take any running back at No. 3 flies in the face of positional value, or lack thereof. The running back position doesn’t move the needle all that much. Even when running backs do hit early in the draft, they deliver less surplus value than other positions (because they are otherwise so cheap to sign and therefore immediately expensive even on rookie deals), and the opportunity cost of finding an elite player at a position you can’t land in free agency (like offensive tackle) is substantial.
So, the Arizona Cardinals process of moving on from Murray was done so poorly, and the adding of a phenomenal talent on a roster that lacks talent at premium positions from an outside perspective, was not the move to make.
If those are the ESPN takes, they are sound, even if they are something we may not agree with.
