NFL Early Surprises: Kyler Murray and the Undefeated Cardinals Lead the Way

Photo+Courtesy+of+Turf+Show+Times

Photo Courtesy of Turf Show Times

Dom SanSoucie

There has been no shortage of unlikely happenings throughout the league so far this season. From players we didn’t see having a breakout year, or players that we thought would light the world on fire but have been a dud. What teams will continue their early success, and what teams will fall back down to earth.

Kyler Murray and the 4-0 Cardinals

The early favorite for MVP isn’t Mahomes, or Mathew Stafford, or Tom Brady, it’s Kyler Murray. The football community should’ve seen this coming, as Kyler was on track to having a MVP season last year before injuring his shoulder in week 11 against the Seahawks. It looks like he has picked up where he left off before slowing down his production last year. Kyler is #1 in deep ball completion with an astounding 76.5% rate. Murray is third in true passer rating and passing yards, while also having the fifth most rushing yards and second most rushing touchdowns this season for his position. But what about the other contributors on the Cardinals? New additions like A.J Green and Rondale Moore have added size and speed to this team. They also bulked up their offensive line and running backs, adding Rodney Hudson who was cut by the Raiders and James Connor who left the Steelers. The defense got better too, with J.J Watt joining Chandler Jones and Buddah Baker to form one of the better defenses in the league. Coming off a dominant win against the Rams, the Cardinals are looking like true contenders.

The Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford Connection

We all knew that Cooper Kupp is one of the best wide receivers in the league, but we didn’t know he was this good. Kupp left a sour taste in our mouth coming off of last season, where he finished number 22 in receiving yards, but through four weeks he is third in yards. One reason for this difference is the disappearance of the other big name in the Rams wide receiver group in Robert Woods. Mathew Stafford just doesn’t seem to be looking Woods’ way, as he has a 18.7% target share compared to Kupp’s 34.3%. The jokes that Stafford and Kupp eat breakfast together might sound excessive, but it seems to be working and they show no signs of slowing down.

DJ Moore and Deebo Samuel Breakouts

The third year for an NFL player is typically known for the make or break year, and they have both passed all expectations. While D.J Moore is in his fourth year and Deebo in his fifth, they have been staples for their respected offensives this season. Samuel is second in the league in receiving yards, and Moore is fourth. The key to their success is totally different however. D.J’s biggest factor is having a reliable quarterback in Sam Darnold, and Deebo’s reasoning is the deep ball and staying healthy. Samuel has been cursed by the injury bug in the previous two seasons, where he just couldn’t seem to finish a game without suffering some type of injury. Luck has played a factor however as Deebo got loose on a 75 yard touchdown in week 4 on a broken coverage play. Not only does D.J have a reliable quarterback, he has a coach that knows how to use him. They have been using him all over the field, in the slot, outside, and in the backfield. Just like Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, Robby Anderson has completely disappeared from Carolina’s offense and most of his targets have siphoned to D.J Moore. The injury of Christian McCaffery has helped his case as well. 

Kyler Murray, Cooper Kupp, D.J Moore and Deebo Samuel have all exceeded expectations by a mile. Can they continue to fire on all cylinders or are they over producing?