The tight end doesn’t play as big a role in Arizona’s offense, but the overall dynamism of the Cardinals wideouts rules all.
NFL.com: Cardinals have top receiving group in NFL
Jun 22, 2016, 6:00 AM
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd (15) celebrates with Larry Fitzgerald after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
(AP Photo/Don Wright)
It is no secret that the Arizona Cardinals’ offense has many mouths to feed.
The number of receivers capable of making big plays for the Cardinals helps rank them as the best receiving group in the NFL, according to NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal.
1. Arizona Cardinals: The Redskins are deeper than the Cardinals, but we’d still take Arizona’s diversity.
They have an all-time legend (Larry Fitzgerald) coming off one of the best performances of his career. They have a terrific deep threat (Michael Floyd) and a shifty speedster that can take a top off a defense (John Brown) or work in the slot.
J.J. Nelson could wind up being a poor man’s version of John Brown, while even Jaron Brown has made big plays for this team.
Despite turning 32-years-old before last season, Fitzgerald finished with a career-high 109 catches for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns. His 109 catches was the fifth most among all wide receivers last season.
Floyd is coming off of a career-high six touchdown season, while also finishing 13th in the NFL in yards per reception. Floyd’s career mark of 15.8 yards per catch is the seventh highest of all active wide receivers.
John Brown caught 65 passes last year en route to reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. The 2014 third-round pick’s 65 receptions were the third lowest total of all receivers who reached 1,000 yards in 2015.
Nelson, who ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at the 2015 draft combine, has definite breakout potential in his sophomore season.
His speed was enough to convince the Cardinals front office to draft him and in his rookie season he made the most of his 11 catches, as he turned them into 299 yards (27.2 yards per catch).
Rounding out Rosenthal’s top-four receiving groups were the Jacksonville Jaguars in fourth, the New England Patriots in third and the Washington Redskins right behind the Cardinals.
