The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver A.J. Green with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Now, for the first time in Green’s NFL career, he’ll be suiting up for another team – the Arizona Cardinals.
The former Bengals star has 9,430 career receiving yards and 65 career receiving touchdowns. Green began his NFL career with five consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. In 2019, Green missed the entire year with an ankle injury.
There’s no denying that Green is on the decline of his career, but there’s also no denying that, given the opportunity, the 32 year old can still ball.
Last season, Green hauled in 47 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns. It was certainly a down year for the seven-time Pro Bowl player.
Despite having his worst season of his career in 2020, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim still has high hopes for Green, the Summerville, South Carolina native.
“It all starts with the tape. I don’t think his stats are really telling a great story about the type of player he still is, in my opinion,” Keim said Monday. “I think he was targeted 118 times, we charted it, I think it was 38 balls that were uncatchable to our scouts and our coaching staff.
“He’s still got a lot left in the tank, in my opinion.”
“Runs great routes, really strong in traffic — I think he was the third-best receiver in the NFL this past year with catching balls in traffic. Really strong hands, still has the vertical speed, runs crisp routes and is a guy with great character.”
Arizona will pair Green with DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk. Green should receive a lot of single coverage and could quickly become one of Kyler Murray’s favorite targets.