Something special happens when budding quarterbacks finally have an elite target, a wide receiver who can do it all. While Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had a Hall of Fame talent in Larry Fitzgerald his rookie season and again this year, Fitzgerald, while still producing, is at the tail end of his career.
The Cardinals needed to infuse their offense with youth and talent to match Murray’s. They were able to do that at a bargain when they acquired DeAndre Hopkins in a trade for a handful of draft picks and a running back, David Johnson, that didn’t quite work out in Arizona. The Cardinals got the obvious better end of the deal, and after weeks of speculation on just how well the connection between the young passer and experienced receiver would be, the first showing was everything we wanted to see.
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Hopkins’ 14 catches were a career-high and he was one reception shy of matching the Cardinals’ record set by Sonny Randle (16). He finished the game with 151 yards while Murray threw for 230 yards on 26 completions; he obviously was favoring his newest target.
“Kyler kept giving me the ball, kept feeding me, and we kept making plays. … After what you guys saw [yesterday], the sky’s the limit on what this team can do,” Hopkins said, via the Cardinals’ website.
Hopkins had an immediate effect on this offense and gave Murray the younger (and better) version of Fitzgerald to find. Hopkins, who signed a lucrative extension just before the start of the season effectively keeping him in Arizona through the 2024 season, was favored on the left side Sunday. He was targeted on 40% of his routes, which tied for his fourth-highest in a game since the 2016 season. Hopkins thrived in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid system and had more than 50% of the team’s air yard share against the second-best passing defense last season, according to NextGenStats. Even with little time together, due to the shortened offseason and canceled preseason, Murray and Hopkins were still a natural pairing.
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One of the shining examples of the Murray-Hopkins connection was the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Cardinals had been trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half and retook the lead at the start of the fourth with a 22-yard rushing touchdown from Murray. The potent 49ers’ attack responded with another touchdown and then came Hopkins’ best highlight.
Hopkins and tight end Dan Arnold ran crossing routes midfield, causing a “miscommunication” among San Francisco defenders, and leaving a lane open for Hopkins to run to the end zone.
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The amount the Cardinals utilized Hopkins so quickly shows how adaptable he is in this new system. The fact he’s already thriving against one of the best defenses in the league is a strong indicator of how far the Cardinals can go if things keep working this well in their favor.
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