Rank/Rate Our Position Groups

[CardLogic]

We might be terrible.
We might be freaking amazing.

Or anything in-between! As with every year, a lot depends upon the health of the team.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yes. If there are 2 grades above average, there should be 2 grades below average. I got:

QB- Above Average
RB- Above Average
WR- Average
TE- Elite
OL- Above Average
Overall: Above Average

DL- Below Average
OLB- Poor
ILB- Below Average
CB- Average
S- Above Average
Overall: Below Average

Like someone said, if McBride is top 3 in the league, it should make the group elite by default, since TE rooms are only 2 or 3 guys anyway. Plus, it could be a big part of the identity of the offense, if the rookie is the physical presence he's projected to be.

WR being average depends on Wilson showing out.

I couldn’t make TE elite with mcbride doing it for only part of a season, higgins being more potential and tip being a raw rookie. They could certainly become elite though.

Similarly I couldn’t put wr average . . . yet. Not with zero receivers on roster that even had 600 yards in ANY season in the nfl yet.

 

[DVontel]

Looking through this thread & Brit gotta be the only dude to think this WR room is great.

 

[CFLredzoned]

I couldn’t make TE elite with mcbride doing it for only part of a season, higgins being more potential and tip being a raw rookie. They could certainly become elite though.

Similarly I couldn’t put wr average . . . yet. Not with zero receivers on roster that even had 600 yards in ANY season in the nfl yet.

WR definitely has the biggest range.

 

[Garthshort]

Looking through this thread & Brit gotta be the only dude to think this WR room is great.

I think the potential is there. If we go with two TE's, we can probably get away with Marvin, Michael and Greg. Not great yet, but the potential is there.

 

[cardsfanmd]

I think the hardest part about rating this team is rating talent vs. production.

SAFETY - E
Arguebly the best starting duo in the league when healthy

TE - E
McBride goes into the season rated as a top 3 TE. That brings this group to Elite by it self. Wiggins had 14 receptions as a rookie 3rd stringer (Remember Ertz was on this team for most of the season. Add Reiman as one of the best blocking TEs prospects in many year (with a potential to be involved in the passing game). The top three are all proper TEs that can both block and receive. That is unusual

QB - AAA
Kyler shows that he can fit in the scheme returning from injury. He hasn't show enough to be elite. He's 8-12 QB in the League IMO.

RB - AAA
Conner is not elite. He is in the second tier of RBs in the league (potential probowlers, but far from All-pro. Carter is former solid starter behind. Benson provides great talent behind. But unproven talent so far

WR - AA
WR#1 MHJ hasn't played a down yet. WR#2 looked solid when healthy, but has injury concern. Slot WR#3 Dortch keeps producing when on the field. This will be the first time he goes into the season as part of the staring rotation. We do not know if he can live up to the hype/love. Very limited or unproven talent behind.

OL - AAA
PJJ was an above average starter as a rookie. When you see that level of play from a starting OT rookie, it usually means something great is in the future. Hernandez is an above average starter. Williams is a solid to above average starter. Wilkenson finished the season as a solid starter with abundance of talent behind to replace him. Forholdt is the enigma. Rated 18th among Cs in first half of the season. Rated 4th in the second half of the season with the 2nd best run-blocking grade and the 10th best pass-blocking grade. If he continues at that level he will be a very rich man after the season. Or he could tumble back into being a journeyman key reserve.
Individual talent aside, the group played REALLY well collectively.

DL - AA
Solid starters in the group. Good run blockers. Lacking pass rushers. Robinson has unproven potential.

ILB - AA
White is a good starter. Wilson is an experienced starter than have found a niche in being great as a sub package coverage ILB.

OLB - A
Lots of talent. Very limited production on the field. Only proven player is Gardeck, who is a 3rd down pass rush specialist and should remain in that role.

CB - AA
See above. A solid 2nd CB in Bunting and loads of talent from rookies and 2nd year players. Until we see them on the field, we do not know. This group could be AAA to Elite by end season or drop to A

I agree that Conner isn’t elite as a talent. He is the heart and soul of the offense though. The guy does so much more than just running with the ball imo.

 

[PACardsFan]

I’m just excited to see what this offense can do. Kyler a full season past his ACL, two legit receiving options and what should be a really good ground game SHOULD be a potent offense, if not one of the better ones in the NFC. If they can control the clock and limit the amount of time the D is on the field, we could have a bunch of exciting games this year and actually be in the running for a wild card in December.

This is exactly how I feel. The offense will be the strength of the team & has the potential to be potent. The D won’t be great, but it will be significantly better than last year. And our coaching staff is extremely underrated & won’t need “elite” talent for this team to be a playoff team.

 

[Garthshort]

QB- Slightly Above Average
RB- Slightly Above Average
WR- Below Average
TE- Above Average
OL- Average
Overall: Above Average

DL- Slightly Below Average
OLB- Poor
ILB- Slightly Below Average
CB- Below Average
S- Above Average
Overall: Below Average

What would it take to move your evaluation of our RB's to Above Average and not just Slightly? And would you say that you, like the NFL teams, have down graded the RB position?

 

[Garthshort]

Probably a fair assumption that MHJ, Michael and Greg are our top three WR's. Who is #4, and could we move Higgins from TE to WR?

 

[Crimson Warrior]

This is exactly how I feel. The offense will be the strength of the team & has the potential to be potent. The D won’t be great, but it will be significantly better than last year. And our coaching staff is extremely underrated & won’t need “elite” talent for this team to be a playoff team.

I'm bullish on this coaching staff too PA!

Such a different vibe vs. what we had under Kliff Kingsbury!

 

[Crimson Warrior]

I agree that Conner isn’t elite as a talent. He is the heart and soul of the offense though. The guy does so much more than just running with the ball imo.

Maybe he isn't an "elite" talent in terms of 40 yard dash or change of direction, but he has the necessary talent and mindset to be a great "sledgehammer" RB, and that's what we saw last year.

And here's a stat you will like cardsfanmd! Number of 2023 fumbles by James Conner?

Zero!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

What would it take to move your evaluation of our RB's to Above Average and not just Slightly? And would you say that you, like the NFL teams, have down graded the RB position?

I would need to see benson play to his potential. Right now I don’t credit the rookies with their full potential because they haven’t done it even a single play at the nfl level yet. Even highly drafted well regarded players sometimes bust. We have no idea if benson is one of them. If he busts then our rb room is likely slightly below average bc no one behind Conner can effectively pick up the slack if he’s hurts.

I haven’t downgraded the position as a whole bc I see how important it is to OUR offense. But I think you need to grade it as a group without relying on just the starter overly much (a) because that’s the trend in the nfl; and (b) Conners proclivity for injury.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Here's my list, and my ratings are as follows. Elite, Above Average, Average, and Below Average.
1. RB/Above Average
2. QB/Above Average
3. Safety/Above Average
4. TE/Above Average
5. OL/Above Average
6. ILB/Average
7. WR/ Below Average
8. DL/Below Average
9. CB/Below Average
10.OLB/Below Average


Specialists Above Average.

I'm not labeling anything as Elite at this point but there are clearly positions that could be Elite in the future.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I couldn’t make TE elite with mcbride doing it for only part of a season, higgins being more potential and tip being a raw rookie. They could certainly become elite though.

Similarly I couldn’t put wr average . . . yet. Not with zero receivers on roster that even had 600 yards in ANY season in the nfl yet.

I wouldn't either. The only thing that could be considered Elite for this team, is us fans and our hopium.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I would need to see benson play to his potential. Right now I don’t credit the rookies with their full potential because they haven’t done it even a single play at the nfl level yet. Even highly drafted well regarded players sometimes bust. We have no idea if benson is one of them. If he busts then our rb room is likely slightly below average bc no one behind Conner can effectively pick up the slack if he’s hurts.

I haven’t downgraded the position as a whole bc I see how important it is to OUR offense. But I think you need to grade it as a group without relying on just the starter overly much (a) because that’s the trend in the nfl; and (b) Conners proclivity for injury.

I agree with not crediting Benson with him being a rookie. However I think the mid season addition of Michael Carter should also be considered. In the 5 games that Carter played for the Cardinals he averaged 7 yards per carry on 18 rushes. Yes it's a small sample size but it can't be overlooked IMO. That is why I chose Above Average for the RB position even with a rookie in Benson.

 

[PACardsFan]

Maybe he isn't an "elite" talent in terms of 40 yard dash or change of direction, but he has the necessary talent and mindset to be a great "sledgehammer" RB, and that's what we saw last year.

And here's a stat you will like cardsfanmd! Number of 2023 fumbles by James Conner?

Zero!

When you can keep him on the field, Conner is an elite player. The only issue with Conner is his inability to play an entire season. And that’s really not a knock on him. He runs extremely hard & gets dinged every season. Exactly why it was imperative that the Cardinals draft a RB relatively early in the draft. Benson is a perfect replacement when JC misses time, and it’s almost a sure thing that JC will miss time. Adding Benson brings our RB room from above average/average to elite/above average!

 

[dreamcastrocks]

When you can keep him on the field, Conner is an elite player. The only issue with Conner is his inability to play an entire season. And that’s really not a knock on him. He runs extremely hard & gets dinged every season. Exactly why it was imperative that the Cardinals draft a RB relatively early in the draft. Benson is a perfect replacement when JC misses time, and it’s almost a sure thing that JC will miss time. Adding Benson brings our RB room from above average/average to elite/above average!

There are other knocks. He doesn't have breakaway speed either.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I do think the Cardinals running game could be elite next year.

I had to rewatch these Conner highlights from 2023 to get me pumped up. Also should call them highlights for the OL as you could drive a truck through some of those holes. Man I'm excited to watch the Cardinals running game next season!

James Conner's Top Plays From 2023

Cardinals Rushing Stats from last season:

#1 in 20+ yard runs with 23

#2 in 40+ yard runs with 5

#2 in Yard Per Carry at 5.0 YPC

#4 in Total Rushing Yards at 2365 yards

 

[CardNots]

Looking through this thread & Brit gotta be the only dude to think this WR room is great.

Make that two people who thinks our WR room is great!

 

[CardNots]

Maybe he isn't an "elite" talent in terms of 40 yard dash or change of direction, but he has the necessary talent and mindset to be a great "sledgehammer" RB, and that's what we saw last year.

And here's a stat you will like cardsfanmd! Number of 2023 fumbles by James Conner?

Zero!

Conner defines what this team wants to achieve. Fearless and tough as nails.

 

[cardsfanmd]

I couldn’t make TE elite with mcbride doing it for only part of a season, higgins being more potential and tip being a raw rookie. They could certainly become elite though.

Similarly I couldn’t put wr average . . . yet. Not with zero receivers on roster that even had 600 yards in ANY season in the nfl yet.

I think that’s a disservice to McBride. He crushed it the vast majority of the season, especially as our only threat in the passing game.

 

[kerouac9]

I think that’s a disservice to McBride. He crushed it the vast majority of the season, especially as our only threat in the passing game.

9 games with fewer than 40 receiving yards and/or fewer than five receptions.

 

[Krangodnzr]

9 games with fewer than 40 receiving yards and/or fewer than five receptions.

So did Deebo Samuel.

 

[kerouac9]

So did Deebo Samuel.

Cool. Sounds like he didn’t crush it for the vast majority of the season, either. Deebo did score seven TDs despite being inactive for two games and shut out in two others.

Fun subject change tho!

 

[Krangodnzr]

Cool. Sounds like he didn’t crush it for the vast majority of the season, either. Deebo did score seven TDs despite being inactive for two games and shut out in two others.

Fun subject change tho!

It's not.

They both catch the football. And one (McBride) plays a position where 800 yards is actually impressive.