National Outlet Gives Cardinals QB Surprise Ranking

The Arizona Cardinals have made a concerted effort to rebuild nearly every facet of their roster over the course of the past two seasons under GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon, but one player has been a constant — QB Kyler Murray.

Both Gannon and Ossenfort repeatedly express their faith in Murray, and have shown no signs of exploring other options. For the foreseeable future, Murray is the franchise QB, and the assumed starter, barring injury.

Pro Football Focus' John Kosko ranked all 32 NFL teams' starting QBs, and Murray occupied a spot that was neither disrespectful nor praise-worthy.

Out of 32 NFL starters, Kosko placed Murray 15th, one spot below Texans QB C.J. Stroud and one above Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, in a category listed as "Solid starters, but they need more help."

Kosko had this to say about the Cardinals' signal-caller:

"After multiple injury-plagued seasons, Murray finally stayed healthy in 2024 and delivered an 82.1 overall grade. If he can avoid the injury bug again in 2025, Murray is well-positioned to take another step forward in Year 3 under head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing."

Expecting a step forward is reasonable, and should be the bare minimum for Murray. The 27-year-old threw for 3,851 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2024, and ran for another 572 and five scores.

PFF's 82.1 grade was certainly a solid one, but using injury as the only means to quantify Murray's success leaves a bit of analysis on the table. A fully healthy Murray is certainly beneficial to the Cardinals, but he played all 17 games in 2024, and his performance left a bit to be desired at times.

Murray has the talent to play at an elite level, and Arizona's offensive success will likely be tightly connected to their franchise QB. It's fair to not lump Murray in with the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson, but there's more to Murray's success than simply being healthy.

One thing is certain: if he plays to his full potential and manages a higher level of consistency, Murray should be a lot higher than 15 when the 2025 season concludes. The rest is up to him, however.