Fantasy Football Team Previews 2020: Arizona Cardinals
Must Own = Top 120
Value = 121-170
Deep Sleeper = 171 or later
All ADP data courtesy of Fantasy Pros
Must Own:
DeAndre Hopkins, WR (ADP: 13): Hopkins may be leaving the Texans, and a role in which he was one of the NFL’s premier target hounds with an elite QB (Deshaun Watson), but he’s landing in one of the most exciting offensive destinations the league has to offer. This offense is on the rise, and while he no longer has Watson, Kyler Murray is on the upswing. There’s not much that needs to be said about Hopkins; he put up 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and it was a step down from the previous two campaigns. He’s elite, he’s going to put up monstrous production, and there’s no reason to think his targets will significantly dip just because he’s changed uniforms. He’s still the head and shoulders best pass-catcher in Arizona, just like he was in Houston.
Kenyan Drake, RB (ADP: 15): Drake is the most interesting Cardinal, because his talent makes this ADP seem like a no-brainer, but his history is alarming. Drake was traded in-season to Arizona, and less than a week after arriving, he started crushing it. In his first game he ran on the 49ers for 110 yards and a touchdown. He had four shaky weeks after that before ending the season in epic fashion, averaging 110 yards and two touchdowns across the final three games. Those numbers aren’t insane if you look at his career, in which he’s averaged 4.8 yards per carry and peaked at 5.4. Production has never been an issue for Drake, it’s been opportunity. He’s never logged more than 170 rushing attempts in a season, which can partially be attributed to being coached by Adam Gase, but not fully. His story was similar in college, where he was forced to share work with Derrick Henry. Even in Alabama, he never cracked 100 carries in a season. The Cardinals offense is one in which we’ve seen Drake be a high-end option in a small sample size that’s consistent with his career numbers. But he’s being treated as a workhorse back, and we’ve never seen him do that. I tend to bet on talent, so this could work out, but I’d personally like to take this risk a bit later than pick No. 15.
Kyler Murray, QB (ADP: 56): If you enjoyed the work of Lamar Jackson last year, Kyler Murray should pop up in your fantasy algorithm. Murray is not the level of runner that Jackson is, but he was very impressive as a rookie last year. Murray rushed almost six times per game, for 544 yards and four touchdowns. That kind of floor is what you want from a fantasy QB, and should be exciting even before we talk about the potential for growth in his passing. Murray threw for 3,722 yards and only 20 touchdowns last year. He was also sacked 48 times behind the NFL’s seventh-worst offensive line and with an injured Christian Kirk as his top receiver. This season he’s added Hopkins, who posted 13 and 11 touchdowns on his own in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and gets a healthy Kirk back. This offense is fast-paced, built for him to pile up stats, and now he has weapons worthy of him. I’d be surprised if he’s not a Top 5 QB this year, so while I usually avoid QBs at this point in the draft, I can’t kill the decision if you pull the trigger.
Christian Kirk, WR (ADP: 119): It hasn’t happened yet for Kirk as a No. 1 receiver, and now he’s unequivocally the No. 2. That might be good for him, as this offense figures to support multiple fantasy relevant players. Hopkins is going to command all of a secondary’s attention, and Drake is the engine that will make this offense go. Kirk should be able to feast on second and third CBs or safeties, and provide WR2 value to fantasy owners. He’s currently the 44th WR off the board, so without question a huge value considering this offense and his co-starring role in it.
Value:
Chase Edmonds, RB, (ADP: 159): Edmonds has looked good at times when given a chance, but in back-to-back seasons he’s totaled just 60 rushing attempts. Now that they’ve paid Drake big money, I don’t expect him to be anything more than a pure handcuff without an injury. So Drake owners should go out of their way to roster Edmonds, but he’s not going to have much standalone value to anyone.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR (ADP: 169): Fitz’s reception totals dropped in 2018 significantly, and stayed there last year, signaling the decline is real. Fitz isn’t relevant in shallow leagues anymore, and his status even in full-PPR leagues is waning. He’s still a decent emergency FLEX type, but expecting anything more than that is a fool’s errand. Hey, he’s 37. Father Time is undefeated.
Deep Sleepers:
Andy Isabella, WR, (ADP: 265): Isabella is talented, but he’s best used out of the slot, which is still occupied by Fitz, a future Hall of Famer. As long as Fitz is there, Isabella isn’t going to matter, no matter how much the coaches insist they want to get him involved. It’s just not going to happen, because they can’t protect Murray in four-receiver sets. In full-PPR leagues he’s maybe worth your last pick, but I think you can do better.