Quarterback Kyler Murray has made sound decisions and shown growth this season, and yet the Cardinals have not produced consistent offense through six weeks, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky evaluated ahead of Arizona’s Monday Night Football matchup with the Chargers.
“I think Kyler’s had a really good start to the season. It hasn’t been perfect,” Orlovsky told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Wednesday. “There’s been probably two games that have stood out that have been subpar as an offensive performance, and he has had his hand in that. I would probably say the most disappointing game was this past one against Green Bay.
“I think you’ve seen development and growth from Kyler, and they’re running a relatively, with Drew (Petzing), a kind of unique system. It’s a system that, in many ways, has really cool positives with a ton of the tight end usage and all the different things they do with those tight ends. But there is a cap to it … it certainly hasn’t been a runaway offensive performance, but I do think there have been a good amount of highs.”
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Murray is getting more comfortable in Year 2, running Petzing’s heavier system than the offense he ran with Kliff Kingsbury over his first four seasons. He has been extremely accurate inside 10 yards, finding his tight ends and running backs underneath and over the middle with some high-level throws downfield like his touchdown pass to Michael Wilson on Sunday.
But the Cardinals have struggled to get their vertical passing game going down the field, as Murray is 25-for-54 beyond 10 yards, per Pro Football Focus. He has completed 68.2% of his passes, his highest since 2021, but his passing yards per game are below 200.
The lack of downfield success is evident in the production from No. 4 pick Marvin Harrison Jr., who has 81 receiving yards over his last three games as he and Murray continue to build their chemistry.
“It’s obviously a challenge,” Orlovsky said. “We don’t see receivers, we’ve had some over the past couple years step right in and have jaw dropping performances as rookies. My mind goes to a Ja’Marr Chase when he stepped in with Joe Burrow as a rookie. Very different offensive scheme. That was a scheme in Cincinnati that was going to be 11 personnel with three wide receivers. … That’s not who the Cardinals are.
“We just had this call with our crew, and one of the questions some of the people in our production crew asked was why is Marvin not dominating like a Malik Nabors is? … The Cardinals are playing with three tight ends on the field. They’re a run-first offense right now. And so that doesn’t mean Marvin’s not incapable of being that number one. It’s just not being asked because that’s not what’s best for their offense right now. The second thing is I think corners have started to get up at the line of scrimmage and challenge him a little bit more physically.”
Does Kyler Murray get weighed and measured on a different scale than other QBs?@wolf987FM and @LukeLapinski asked ESPN NFL analyst @danorlovsky7 earlier today!
WATCH: https://t.co/1c4mt90B7u pic.twitter.com/PVks6sIp0N
— Wolf & Luke on Arizona Sports (@WolfandLuke) October 16, 2024
Orlovsky said Murray’s No. 1 overall pick status, sizable contract and outstanding athleticism put him on a different scale than most quarterbacks. Murray has statistically been a top-half to top-10 starting quarterback this season, but external expectations are always sky-high.
“It’s not a fair evaluation, because you are expected to be as good as anybody who’s considered the best in the league,” Orlovsky said. “So hey, Kyler, you got to be Lamar (Jackson), you got to be Patrick (Mahomes). And obviously, those are unrealistic for most people. So yeah, I think that there’s a lofty expectation.”
Orlovsky will be in the booth on Monday alongside play-by-play Chris Fowler, analyst Louis Riddick along with Laura Rutledge on the sidelines.