NFL history is replete with outstanding teams that had outstanding wide receiver tandems. Will that happen again for the Cardinals?
Although their joint debut won’t happen until the 2020 NFL season begins, Arizona Cardinals faithful are anticipating the pairing of wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald.
We expect the dynamic duo of elite route runners to befuddle secondaries with their experience, fantastic hands, and team-first attitudes.
Couple these two talented receivers with Kyler Murray, the Cardinals’ exciting young quarterback, and you can understand the upsurge in Arizonan expectations.
Of course, football is a team sport. But we also remember how Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin provided devastating targets for Kurt Warner from 2003 to 2009.
Then, again, Coach Kliff Kingsbury may return Fitz to duty as the team’s slot receiver instead of splitting him out wide this year. Slot duty shortens routes and extends careers. If that happens, then the Fitzgerald-Hopkins combo won’t engage and confuse opposing cornerbacks on every passing play–just on some of them.
Larry Fitzgerald is chasing Jerry Rice for pass-receiving supremacy, Now in his 17th season with Arizona, he is already considered a future Hall of Famer. He’s a local ‘hall of famer,’ too. Recently, the Cardinals’ most popular player added to his community service record by distributing food in Phoenix during the Coronavirus crisis.
Traded from the Houston Texans this off-season, DeAndre Hopkins brings a record of excellence to the Cardinals. And that’s why expectations are skyrocketing.
Over its long history, the NFL has showcased many gifted wide receivers, and some of them played on teams that boasted not one, but two, outstanding wideouts. From 1964-68, Washington linked the team’s first African American player, the legendary Bobby Mitchell, with Charley Taylor. Taylor shifted from college running back at Arizona State to wide receiver in Washington, and those two stars gave Sonny Jurgenson an unstoppable pair of downfield targets. In the 1980s, Washington’s Art Monk and Gary Clark combined to provide the Capital City with another record-setting pair of wide receivers.
In nearby Baltimore, Raymond Berry (split end) and Lenny Moore (flanker) made life easier for Johnny Unitas. Those two frustrated defensive backs until the Colts decided to make the most of Lenny’s ball-carrying ability by moving him from flanker to running back.
Pittsburgh had its unbelievable wide receiver tandem in Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. San Francisco had Jerry Rice and John Taylor. Minnesota boasted Randy Moss and Cris Carter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0OdVFKkuvY
And the list goes on!
Arizona Cardinals’ fans will have to wait and see if Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins fill the same bill. It will be entertaining at the very least, and the anticipation will make The Desert rock!
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