Cardinals’ most under-rated players at each position on offense

At either the local or national level

In my opinion, in terms of either the local or national perception, here are the most under-rated Arzina Cardinals at each position.

QB: Clayton Tune

The last eight weeks of the season, Clayton Tune was given a niche role of being the team’s short-yardage QB —- a role in which he showed consistent poise and toughness.

In Clayton Tune’s one start last season in Week 9, he was overwhelmed by the Browns’ vaunted pass rush:

Cleveland Browns: Cleveland was home to the highest pass-rush win rate of any team in 2023 (60.3%), and the defense allowed the lowest EPA per play on pass rushes (-0.27). They also allowed the lowest first-down conversion rate in the NFL (22.6%) (per PFF: Clustering all 32 NFL defenses from the 2023 season (pff.com))

Given a little more time and better pockets than what he got in that Browns’ game, what Clayton Tune does very well is float inside the pocket to buy that precious extra second of time in order to make accurate connections with receivers over the middle of the field. In Drew Petzing’s style of offense the ability to float and attack the middle of the field off play action or out of the shotgun is of paramount importance.

Prime example:

Watch Clayton Tune’s footwork, nifty escape ability (up the middle and breaking contain), sharp passing over the middle:

Clayton Tune Full Preseason Highlights (2023) (youtube.com)

There is a lot of ability to build on here.

• Clayton Tune’s strength as passer over the middle of the field is a very good match for Petzing’s scheme.

If he gets waived: expect the Texans to claim him and re-unite him with Tank Dell as a backup to C.J. Stroud.

RB: Emari Demercado

Little was expected from CFA RB Emari Demercado heading into the season last year. He obviously caught the Cardinals’ attention at State Farm Stadium, during the National Semi-Final Fiesta Bowl when he helped to lead TCU to a stunning 51-45 upset over Michigan while rushing 17 times for 150 yards (8.8 ypc) and 1 TD. Rushing for 150 yards against that star-studded Michigan defense, are you kidding?

The first thing that Emari did to earn playing time was take the romance out of the A and B gap blitzes by stone walling on-coming linebackers. It’s rare to find a rookie RB these days who can come right into the NFL and immedaitely excel at that role the way Emari did.

Then, when James Conner was injured, Emari rushed for a combined 142 yards on 24 carries (5.9 rpc) versus the Ravens and 49ers, two of the top defenses in the NFL, highlighted by this scintillating burst-through-traffic TD scamper:

Emari finished the season with 58 carries for 284 yards (4.9 ypc) and 2 TDs. Plus, he caught 21 passes for 119 yards (5.7 ypc) for a combined 403 yards at 5.1 yards per touch.

His 73.4 PFF grade was 3rd highest on the offense for players who player in over 10 games. As a rookie, that’s pretty dang impressive.

If he gets waived: expect the Ravens, Cowboys, Texans, Rams or 49ers to claim him.

WR: Greg Dortch

While Greg Dortch is finally getting the attention from his coaches that he deserves, he’s been a fan favorite since he arrived in Arizona. The rest of the NFL is far less aware of his talents.

The Cardinals’ 2024 Triple Threat at WR.

• If all goes according to the Cardinals’ plan, a common theme around the NFL when Greg Dortch scores TDs is apt to be “You just got DORTCHED!”

TE: Elijah Higgins

One of the best moves that Monti Ossenfort made last season was to claim Michael Wilson’s Stanford teammate, TE Elijah Higgins off of waivers. Higgins was the Dolphins’ 6th round pick in 2023 and they were hoping he would clear waivers.

As the season progressed and Elijah Higgins had earned more opportunities to play, he started making big catches. Like his first TD as a pro, thanks to Kyler doing a great job of buying an extra second and dropping Higgy Bear this dime:

Elijah Higgins finished his rookie season with 14 catches for 163 yards (11.6 ypc). And get this —-> 9 of his 14 catches went for 1st downs.

C: Hjalte Froholdt

On the local level this off-season a fair number of Cardinals’ fans were wanting to see the team draft a replacement for Fro. In my opinion, Fro was one of Monti Ossenfort’s best UFA signings in 2023. He came in having full knowledge of Drew Petzing’s offense, and it quickly helped to galvanize the OL and their wide zone blocking schemes. Not only is Fro the most physically imposing center the Cardinals have had in recent memory, Fro seems to have forged an impressive rapport with Kyler Murray. They are building a fluent chemistry. The vast majority of their snaps were clean and consistently well executed.

Look at the masterful and powerful way in which Hjalte Froholdt gets to the second level and finishes his blocks:

Mo’ in ‘24 from Fro!

G Will Hernandez

The last time Will Hernandez garnered any real recognition of a national level was in 2022 when the 49ers’ raucous throng of fans at Mexico City booed Hernandez in the pre-game as he ran a lap with the Mexican flag.

Well, quite possibly this season, the superb level of Will Hernandez’ play with garner national attention in the form of Pro Bowl votes.

Despite PFF’s struggles, imo, to properly grade the Cardinals’ blocks in their wide zone scheme, Will Hernandez’s 66.2 PFF grade was not only the highest OL grade on a team that finished #4 in yards and #1 in average run per carry in the NFL, his was the #17 highest grade for guards who played in over 1,000 snaps. His 70.2 pass blocking grade was #14.

Guess how many penalties Will Hernandez incurred in 2023?

1

Will’s captain-worthy leadership is blossoming:

“Where there’s a Will there’s a way.” And where there is a Will, the way is paved.

T Kelvin Beachum

Since he joined the Cardinals in 2020, Kelvin Beachum has been the stalwart on the team’s offensive line.

Games started:

• 2020 —- 16 at RT
• 2021 —- 16 at RT
• 2022 —- 17 at RT
• 2023 —-2 at LT (and 77 snaps at LT in other games)

Not only has Kelvin Beachum been playing on home-town discount contracts, he’s a pro’s pro in how he prepares.

There was concern whether at his age whether Kelvin Beachum could hold up at LT as the 2023 swing tackle if need be. In his first pre-season game at LT he had a very rough go of it, posting a 40.7 pass blocking grade—- yet to his credit and customary hard work, when he was called on to sub for D.J. Humphries, he did a commendable job, as evidence by his 67.6 pass blocking grade for the season.

And how about this testament to Beach’s loyalty to his alma mater, SMU!

Beach in the Sky:

I nominate Kelvin Beachum to become the newly appointed “Most Interesting Man in the World.”

After all, Beach could parallel park a train.

Because, after all, did you notice on the video how well he blocked Aaron Donald?

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These are my choices for the Cardinals most under-rated players at each position on offense.

Who are yours?