Pro Football Focus lists Cardinals as early winner of free agency

The Arizona Cardinals were a flawed team in 2019. They had clear and obvious holes on the roster that needed to be corrected if they wanted to take a step forward in 2020.

General manager Steve Keim and his staff have gotten most of that needed work done, and the props are coming in for it. But most of it is for just one move in particular.

Pro Football Focus ran through some of the early winners of free agency and the Cardinals made the cut for the DeAndre Hopkins trade. And that’s enough to boost Arizona’s team. Big time.

Regardless of what they do the rest of the offseason (barring something like trading Kyler Murray for a pack of gum), the Cardinals will be a better team next season simply due to the Hopkins trade.

For Linsey, that has to do with what Hopkins can add to an already strong start in year one of the Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray era improving the offense.

The Cardinals went from dead last in expected points added per play on offense in 2018 (by a wide margin) to 13th in the same measure last season under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Murray. The most impressive part of that is that there is plenty of room for improvement from Murray, and the Cardinals still fielded numerous question marks on their offensive line while lacking a dynamic primary option at wide receiver with Larry Fitzgerald not having the same kind of athleticism that he did early in his career.

Hopkins changes that. He can beat press man; he can win against the top cornerbacks in the NFL; he can bring down contested catches that make you question whether or not he is human; and he can dominate in all areas of the field. To get that kind of player for essentially a second-round pick while peddling Johnson’s contract to the Texans is robbery.

It’s certainly rarified air that Hopkins is in as a receiver. In a rather pedestrian 2019 to his standards, Hopkins still managed 104 catches for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns.

Those numbers compare to the likes of Fitzgerald’s prime. And Hopkins will certainly be one of the best pass-catchers Arizona has ever had if he comes close to his average line over seven years of 90 receptions, 1,229 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

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