The NFL does not respect Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray in the QB ranking

ARIZONA — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray did not appear on ESPN’s list of the top NFL quarterbacks heading into the 2024 season, which is compiled using votes and opinions from league executives, coaches and scouts.

The biggest names dominated the list, as expected:

1. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
2. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
3. Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
4. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
5. Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
6. Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
7. CJ Stroud (Houston Texans)
8. Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
9. Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
10. Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)

Murray is generally considered a fringe candidate to be a top 10 or 12 player when healthy, so it was a little odd to see him not even lumped into the “honorable mention” category with the following names:

Murray received an unspecified number of votes to make the list alongside Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield in the same category, though not finishing in the top half of the quarterback rankings even after missing half of last season with an ACL injury is… something.

If you’ve been paying attention to Arizona’s 2023 season, you’ll notice the dramatic turnaround the Cardinals’ offense has seen under Murray. All but one of their wins have come under Murray, and honestly, Arizona was one step away from getting another win or two on its resume.

Statistically speaking, the Cardinals had a top-ten offense at the end of the season when Murray returned.

With an improved offense in virtually every area, it’s interesting to guess why people aren’t as excited about the desert:

Rising star Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, who also fell outside the top 10 in his positional rankings, believes Murray can win MVP this season.

“This is the most confidence I’ve ever had with him. This is the first year I’ve been completely healthy with him, he’s completely healthy, I think everything is going in the right direction. He’s got a lot of weapons and I have complete confidence that he’s capable of putting together an MVP season,” McBride said.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said he couldn’t contain his excitement for Murray to play a full season:

“I’m not going to hide my excitement, it’s incredible to see him lead the offense. Lead the team, be there with his teammates, ask great questions, be accountable to everyone and accept the consequences like everyone else does. I love that about him,” Gannon told reporters.

“It’s because he’s so competitive, I coach him, I coach him like a rookie receiver who makes a mistake. He likes that, he accepts it, he wants it. It’s been great to see. I told you it’s going to be an interesting year for him. It really is, I’m excited for him.”

While it’s clear the rest of the league isn’t following that line of thinking, the Cardinals are surely hoping to surprise a lot of people once the games start counting here shortly.