The Arizona Cardinals are in the middle of training camp and one position of particular interest is at cornerback due to the injury of starter Robert Alford, who tore his pectoral muscle and is out for the season.
It is for that reason that Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar has named second-year corner as the Cardinals’ player to watch in camp this year, even though fans won’t be able to watch camp this year.
There’s a lot of positivity about the Cardinals in 2020, mostly surrounding second-year quarterback Kyler Murray and new receiver DeAndre Hopkins. But if the Cards are to get themselves out of the NFC West cellar, they’ll have to improve a defense that finished 23rd in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics, and 27th against the pass. It didn’t help that cornerback Robert Alford missed the entire 2019 season with a broken leg, and cornerback Patrick Peterson missed six games with a suspension. That put Byron Murphy, the team’s first-round pick, in the firing line as an outside defender when he was drafted to play inside. With Alford now losing the 2020 season to a torn pectoral muscle, Murphy may have to play outside again.
“Byron was definitely thrown in there last year,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently said. “He was expecting to play more of a nickel role for us last year. It’s what he really starred at in college. He was kind of put out on an island, playing corner for most of the season. There’s definitely a comfort level after going through that, having those ups and downs, to playing inside the majority of the time.”
Last season, per Pro Football Focus, Murphy allowed 10 touchdowns in coverage — the most for any cornerback in the NFL. As Arizona’s cornerback depth chart is affected again, it will be on Murphy to figure things out in a big hurry.
Murphy was slated to play exclusively from the slot in 2020, something he was excited about. It is where the Cardinals believe his best play will come. However, depending on the roles of newly signed corners B.W. Webb and Ken Crawley, and whether or not they sign someone like Dre Kirkpatrick, who recently visited the team, Murphy could very well be playing outside.
Murphy, the 33rd overall pick in the draft last year, was No. 5 on the Cardinals’ draft board. They clearly believe he can be very good. However, his rookie season was rough.
He has come into camp with a different level of confidence. It reminds me of the change in Tyrann Mathieu between his rookie year and second season.
Murphy has quickly become one of the team’s most important defensive players of 2020.
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