The Arizona Cardinals upgraded their wide receiver corps this offseason by trading for DeAndre Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro. That gives them a very formidable trio in Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk.
However, despite having one of the best ever in Fitzgerald and one of the best in the game currently, that doesn’t even put them in the top 10 of Pro Football Focus’ rankings of the 32 NFL teams based on their receivers.
They only come in 12th overall.
The biggest receiving acquisition of any team this offseason was the Cardinals bringing in DeAndre Hopkins for what was essentially a second-round draft pick. Hopkins is the third-highest-graded wide receiver in the NFL over the past five seasons, and he boasts one of the most reliable pairs of hands in the NFL with a drop rate of just 3.7% over that same stretch (sixth among qualifying wide receivers). One of the names above him in drop rate is his new teammate Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald doesn’t provide a whole lot of burst at this stage of his career, but he’s still a reliable target out of the slot in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. With Christian Kirk, Kenyan Drake out of the backfield and hopefully the emergence of a young speedster like Andy Isabella, the Cardinals’ passing offense is in good shape to continue its upward trend.
It is true that they do not have top tight ends to contribute to the passing game, but just the top three receivers alone should rate them higher.
PFF’s top five is hard to argue, but the Detroit Lions come in at No. 6. Would you rather have Hopkins and Fitzgerald or Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones?
The Cardinals should be top 10 and probably about No. 6.
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Ep. 267
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Ep. 266
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