This season, things have not gone well for the Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Carson Palmer. The Cardinals, who were 60 minutes away from another Super Bowl berth last season, are now 5-8-1 and will miss the playoffs.
One of the reasons why the Cardinals are struggling is because of the play of Palmer, who has not looked like the MVP candidate that he was last season.
Palmer has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 3,694 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. This season’s numbers are a far cry from last season, where he completed 63.7 percent of his passes for a career-high 4,671 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Palmer’s production has declined this season because of the number of times he has been sacked. Thus far, Palmer has been sacked 38 times and with two games to go, it looks like he’ll surpass his total of 41 in 2013. According to Football Outsiders, the Cardinals’ offensive line is ranked 22nd in pass protection with an adjusted sack rate of 6.7 percent. With that percentage, it is not a perfect recipe for the 36-going-on-37-year old Palmer to be productive.
With the aging Palmer’s play declining, is it time for Arizona to look for his replacement?
To answer that question, yes it is time for Arizona to look for their heir to the quarterback throne. The current quarterbacks on the Cardinals’ roster behind Palmer are Drew Stanton and Zac Dysert. Stanton is only 32 years old, but is a career backup quarterback, while Dysert is a young, journeyman quarterback.
With no options on the roster currently, the Cardinals will need to turn to the 2017 NFL draft to find their replacement. However, some draft experts believe that this quarterback class is the weakest since 2013. If you do not remember, the 2013 quarterback class featured E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith, Ryan Nassib, Matt Barkley, and Mike Glennon. None of those quarterbacks have lit up the NFL or came close.
Fast forward to the 2017 class and it has some solid quarterback prospects in DeShone Kizer, Deshaun Watson, Brad Kaaya (possibly) and Mitch Turbinsky (possibly). While Kizer, Turbinsky (if he declares), and Watson are possible first round selections. Kaaya, on the other hand, could be there in the second or third round, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper.
Luckily for the Cardinals, if the draft started today they would have the ninth overall pick, which puts them in the territory for Kizer, Turbinsky, or Watson. Right now, the only teams in front of Arizona that needs a quarterback is the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. So the odds are in their favor to get a young quarterback.
However, if they go with another position of need in the first round, they could snatch up Kaaya in the second or third round and groom him. We’ve seen the Patriots do this in back to back years, drafting both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. In the 2015 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Nick Hundley and we cannot forget about the Cowboys, who used a fourth round pick on Dak Prescott.
As we’ve seen this season with the Patriots and Cowboys, you never know when your starter will go down and need your young quarterback to step in. That is what the Cardinals do not have and with Palmer only having maybe one more good year left in him, it’s time for Arizona to invest in the future.
