LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 29: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald #11 celebrates with tight end Dan Arnold #82 of the Arizona Cardinals after a touchdown in the game against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
They were a better team by season’s end. But the Arizona Cardinals still finished last in the NFC West again. What does this club need to do to improve?
When the 2018 season was over and done, the Arizona Cardinals had won three games and Steve Wilks was one and done as the franchise’s head coach. The team finished dead last in the league in rushing offense, passing yards and total offense – a dubious feat that hadn’t happened since the 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So in with former Texas Tech sideline leader Kliff Kingsbury. General manager Steve Keim had the No. 1 pick in last April’s draft and selected Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Kyler Murray. After a slow start, he wound up as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. And the Cards won two more games than the previous year.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough to escape the basement of the NFC West, a division that sent a team to the Super Bowl two straight years. So what can the organization do to get better this offseason?
5. Find more help at tight end
It was a position that plagued the Arizona Cardinals when the other team had the football. But it wasn’t much of a factor when Kliff Kingsbury’s club had the football. When it came to the tight end position, this was an offense that didn’t rely much on this spot. The quartet of Charles Clay, Maxx Williams, Dan Arnold and Darrell Daniels combined for 40 catches, 545 yards and four scores.
Clay can test free agency in March, so it will be interesting to see if general manager Steve Keim opts to bring back the veteran, let him walk and turn more to the other three, bring in another experience pro or utilize the draft to add a talented prospect. A reliable underneath target that could also stretch the field a bit more would certainly be an asset to the league’s 24th-ranked passing attack.