NFL countdown: Murray, Cardinals on the rise

This is the 11th in a series of 32 NFL team betting previews in 32 days leading up to the league’s Sept. 10 season opener. We’ll count down the teams from the lowest season win total to the highest.

The Arizona Cardinals are on the rise, but there might not be anywhere to go in a stacked NFC West.

It would also help if coach Kliff Kingsbury got more aggressive, Westgate vice president of risk Ed Salmons said.

“Kingsbury coached a little conservative last year,” Salmons said. “He was obsessed with kicking field goals.”

The Cardinals did have a tendency to play close games, and that worked out for bettors. Arizona went 5-10-1 but was 9-5-2 against the spread.

Optimism for the Cardinals comes from the continued development of quarterback Kyler Murray. The former Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors last season after throwing for 3,722 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for 544 yards and four scores.

In advanced stats, Murray graded out 15th among NFL quarterbacks in ESPN’s QBR metric and 21st in Football Outsiders’ DYAR measure.

Salmons said Murray “had a lot of pressure on him” behind a subpar offensive line. “They have to shore up the defense and protect Murray,” he said.

The Cardinals tried to address some of those issues in the draft, taking Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons with the No. 7 overall pick and Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones in the third round.

Murray should have plenty of weapons after the team acquired star Houston Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade that was widely viewed as lopsided in Arizona’s favor. The Texans received running back David Johnson and some draft picks.

Hopkins caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and he has amassed 1,165 or more receiving yards in five of the past six seasons. Stalwart receiver Larry Fitzgerald returns for his 17th season, and Christian Kirk provides explosiveness on the outside.

Running back Kenyan Drake rushed for 643 yards and eight TDs in eight games after being acquired from Miami in a midseason trade.

The Cardinals’ biggest obstacle is their competition in the NFC West. Arizona has a season win total of 7½, but is slotted behind the Los Angeles Rams (8½), the Super Bowl runners-up two years ago; Seattle (9½), which has made the playoffs seven of the past eight seasons; and San Francisco (10½), last year’s Super Bowl runner-up.

Salmons said he liked Arizona to go over the opening win total number of 6½ but doesn’t have an opinion at 7½.

“They’re definitely turned around and headed in the right direction,” Salmons said. “A young team will sometimes take a step back before going forward.”

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.