The Arizona Cardinals are excited about having quarterback Kyler Murray healthy to start the season. The belief in the building in him is extremely high.
But that belief isn’t nearly as high around the league, as The Athletic released their quarterback tiers for 2024, based on votes of 50 NFL coaches and executives.
They put Murray in Tier 3, considered “a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win. A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best.”
That tier includes Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Geno Smith and Russell Wilson.
The tier above them includes Lamar Jackson, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Kirk Cousins and Jordan Love.
And while, as a Cardinals fan and believer in Murray, it is hard to disagree with the rankings. The organization, coaches and players view Kyler a tier above where is was voted to be, but that is understandable. He has a Tier 1 ceiling. We have seen it.
The problem is that we haven’t seen it since 2021. 2022 was bad, he tore his ACL and it took until the final three games of last season to really look like himself.
You can’t look at the last two seasons and say his play warranted a higher tier than where he is.
But after this year, we hope it is a different story.
Murray should be at least a Tier 2 quarterback. He isn’t right now. He needs to be this time next year.
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