ESPN Questions Key Cardinals Connection

Kyler Murray faces several questions as the Arizona Cardinals prepare for the 2025 season.

Arizona was surprisingly competitive last season in year two of the Jonathan Gannon era as the Cardinals went 8-9 and held a brief lead in the NFC West in what was once considered a complete rebuild.

But perhaps the team is ahead of schedule.

Gannon has assembled a great coaching staff, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, while also establishing a new culture that the team is fully buying into. It comes as no surprise the team has become highly-competitive so quickly even with a talent disparity compared to other teams in the NFC.

Cardinals Have Serious Questions to Answer

But it's important to remember when we said the Cardinals once held a lead in the division before squandering it away in the second half of the year. Several reasons contributed to the fall off including the defense's performance.

However, it was the play of Murray that was perhaps the biggest contributor to the collapse.

Murray now enters a do-or-die season in 2025. There's a substantial amount of pressure placed on the former number one overall pick's shoulders, and rightfully so as the franchise's face and quarterback.

We have more than a handful of questions that need answering:
Can Murray deliver when the game is on the line?
When will Murray take his game to the next level?
Was Murray's 2021 season a one-off?
Will we ever see Murray maximize his rushing ability?

ESPN: Can Kyler, MHJ Connect?

ESPN's Dan Graziano recently discussed the biggest question marks surrounding every starting quarterback in the NFL. His question for Murray didn't single out the seventh year pro, however.

Rather, he asked about a potential connection with one of the team's top pass catchers:

Graziano asks, "Can the Kyler Murray-Marvin Harrison Jr. connection deliver on its first-round promise in Year 2?"

Murray's connection with Harrison moving forward will be extremely telling. It will also pose as one of the Cardinals' biggest offseason storylines.

Here's everything Graziano had to say:

"Harrison's rookie season was fine -- 62 catches, 885 yards and eight touchdowns. But as the fourth pick of the 2024 draft and given his college performance, he was supposed to take the NFL by storm right out of the gate. Instead, he was the No. 2 option in the Cardinals' passing game behind tight end Trey McBride.

"More is expected in Harrison's second season, and the same can be said of Murray in his seventh. Arizona made almost no changes on offense this offseason after finishing ninth in offensive EPA in 2024. The Cardinals beefed up on defense, hoping that will be enough to make them contenders. But Murray and the offense have to take a step forward if that's to happen, and a breakout for Harrison will help."

Why Marvin Harrison Jr.'s Rookie Season Was Not Disappointing

Many viewed Harrison's rookie season as a near-failure after missing the 1,000 receiving yard mark. It was easy to compare him to his colleagues from the same draft like Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr, who both made the Pro Bowl and eclipsed 1,200 yards.

Given the expectations to have a borderline historic season, it was a year that many were quite frankly upset and maybe even mad over.

Still, Harrison showed off all the potential and upside that we were hoping to see. Many are overlooking the eight touchdowns that he caught, which paced the team and doubled second place on the team. His 14.3 yards per reception was the most on the team and three yards better than second place. Harrison also paced the team with 14 receptions of 20+ yards.

Safe to say, he was far from horrible, even if he didn't hit the 1k mark.

Harrison will be looked at and considered as a breakout player across the league, and he's one of the most capable candidates that you could choose to accomplish that feat.

However, he can't throw the ball to himself... so, he will need his quarterback to play well, too.

And thus, we arrive at Graziano's question of if the two can establish that connection.

Can Murray-Harrison Connection Thrive in 2025?

The Cardinals invested the fourth overall pick in Harrison last season, and we already mentioned Murray was the top overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. Expectations and certainly investment don't get much bigger than that. It means that delivering on those expectations is a must.

Murray will be the biggest factor in whether this connection becomes more established. When the two were in a rhythm last season they were spectacular. However, there were too many instances where they were on different pages and a clear lack of chemistry became evident.

In fairness, we can and should address some of this to offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and his misuse of Harrison. Nonetheless, these two must work things out in 2025; the offense will depend on it more than ever.

The Cardinals' offense has a clear identity as a run-heavy team, but outside of Trey McBride, who works the middle of the field, Arizona lacks any true receiving options to open up a passing game that makes defenses honest.

McBride can only do so much, so the task falls into the hands of Murray and Harrison. Do or die.

A lack of any connection between this duo could doom the season -- it is truly that pivotal. A repeat of last year's offense will keep the Cardinals out of the postseason once again. Should that happen, some very difficult conversations must be had, and that could lead to some potentially difficult decisions.

Murray will be asked to step up this season and that's more than fair to do. To do so, he must make the most of the talent around him to improve the offense.

The group is more than just Harrison, but should those two become a dynamic duo? The Cardinals may become a force to be reckoned with, and if the defense takes the next step forward the Cards could be on a direct path back to the postseason.