On paper, it seems as if the Arizona Cardinals have a team that could return to the NFL playoffs this coming winter.
They have a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Kyler Murray who is putting his ACL tear in 2022 behind him and young studs in wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., tight end Trey McBride and running back James Connor. On defense, they have added pass rusher Josh Sweat and veteran defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson to a unit that struggled at times in 2024.
The Cardinals started 6-4 in 2024 and had a real shot at winning the NFC West, but they stumbled afterward and missed the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
As they prepare for the NFL draft, analytics guru Warren Sharp pointed out some troubling stats as far as Murray’s startling lack of accuracy on pass attempts of at least 10 yards.
troubling stats from Kyler Murray
his efficiency on throws 10+ yards:
2022: dead last #33 of 33 QBs
2023: dead last #35 of 35 QBs
2024: #33 of 39 QBs2022-2024 combined on throws 10+ yards:
dead last #48 of 48 QBs in EPA/att
#45 of 48 QBs in YPAthis despite the #7 lowest… pic.twitter.com/qKc9xw5M0W
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 16, 2025
Overall, Murray completed 68.8% of his pass attempts and threw for 3,851 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. However, he was just 20th in the NFL with 7.1 yards gained per pass attempt, which was at the league average.
He did run for 572 yards and five touchdowns, which helped Arizona finish seventh in rushing yards and eighth in rushing touchdowns. But overall, the team was 18th in passing yards and 20th in passing touchdowns, and it was one of the league’s worst teams at creating explosive plays on offense.
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Obviously, Murray has some physical limitations since he’s just 5-foot-10. Perhaps one solution for the Cardinals is generating more yards after the catch, especially from McBride and Connor, both of whom did fairly well in that category last season.
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