Kyler Murray and The Arizona Cardinals Look Like Contenders

When it comes to young quarterbacks in the NFL, all anyone wants to talk about is Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. These two young QBs have generated a great deal of buzz in the NFL and rightfully so. They look like the future of the sport. All offseason, there was little to no mention of the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray on ESPN for whatever reason. Here’s a young quarterback who is the face of the franchise going forward who’s quietly making a name for himself, and hardly a peep.

To succeed in today’s NFL you need to be a dynamic quarterback like Mahomes or Jackson. But even then, those style quarterbacks need to give respect to Russel Wilson for ushering that era into the league. Wilson changed the perception of the traditional quarterbacks. There have always been the run-first quarterbacks in the league that challenged defenses to defend their ground game, but Wilson ushered in the QB’s whose pass attack was just as deadly as their run.

More NFL: Are the Raiders Good or Just a Fluke?

You could argue that Michael Vick or Cam Newton changed the style first, but those guys were always run-first to create big pass plays. Now, quarterbacks like Wilson, Mahomes, Jackson, and Murray can beat you with their passing game just as much as with their legs. The new era of quarterbacks adjusts their games to defenses to play to whatever is open.

Even taking Russel Wilson out of the equation, all offseason everyone only wanted to bring up how both Mahomes and Jackson were early favorites to win MVP. Despite Kyler Murray being the offensive Rookie of the Year, maybe because the Arizona Cardinals were still losing. Still, the Cardinals brought back Larry Fitzgerald, made a huge splash trading for DeAndre Hopkins, and still could rely on Kenyan Drake. Nowhere in the conversation did “experts” mention the young quarterback when talking about potential powerhouses this year.

More NFL: Dolphins Make Right Move, In Wrong Way

Fast forward to now Week 7 and the Arizona Cardinals are 5-2, one game behind the Seattle Seahawks in the race for the division. These are the same Seahawks who went toe-to-toe within week 7 and came away with a win in overtime. Murray would match Russel Wilson stride for stride in yards and touchdowns but would make fewer mistakes. Wilson ended the game with 3 interceptions where Murray would have just one.

Kyler Murray might not have gone into this season with many expecting him to make a leap in year two, but so far his name needs to be in the mix. All ESPN wants to talk about is their ratings darlings in Jackson and Mahomes. Without taking away from those two star quarterbacks, after a huge win against their division rivals, it’s time to show Murray a little more respect. If the Cardinals keep winning tough games, “experts” only can eat crow by the end of this season.