We have reached the holiday season. Gifts are being given and celebrations are occurring. The NFL season continues and every team surely has things they need.
So what would the ideal holiday gift for each team?
Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield proposed one for every team. What would be ideal for the Arizona Cardinals?
According to Schofield, it would be a better gameplan for receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
When the Arizona Cardinals acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins last spring it looked like one of the NFL’s greatest heists. The move paid immediate dividends for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, as Hopkins posted huge numbers in Arizona’s Week 1 win over the San Francisco 49ers. For the most part, that trend continued, including a huge play at the end of Arizona’s win over the Buffalo Bills.
But in recent weeks, Hopkins’ numbers have cooled a bit. Stephen Ruiz at ForTheWin.com crafted a well-structured piece outlining the issues with the Cardinals offense right now, and one of their three biggest problems is how they are using the talented wideout. If this team is going to get to the playoffs and make a deep run, they need to find ways to get him involved more. As Ruiz argues, that begins with moving him around the formation to generate more favorable matchups before the snap.
There is something to that but it isn’t as pronounced as you might think. The graphic that went around the Internet about Hopkins’ usage against the Rams in Week 13 looked bad, but it did not reflect his total usage. it was his total production.
What it did not show were the routes he did run out of the slot. He just wasn’t targeted on those plays. Also, the Cardinals bailed on their initial gameplan against the Rams and went two-minute for most of the game, which led to quick throws and a pared down route tree.
Against the New York Giants, Hopkins did move around. It is his first year in this offense. He surely was not given everything all at once. The fact they can line him up on the outside and let him just win matchups is important.
That said, if he were integrated more fully into more roles, it potentially could unlock even more production than what he has gotten already, so…why not?
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