Let's not sugarcoat anything: the Arizona Cardinals were not good in 2018. As a matter of fact, they stunk, as they won just three games and finished with the worst record in the NFL.
The good news was that because the Cardinals were so bad, they ended up with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and with that pick, they selected Oklahoma's Kyler Murray, the kid they feel is going to be their quarterback of the future.
As a result, Arizona cut the cord on the Josh Rosen experiment after just one year, and now, the Cardinals will be going into 2019 with a whole new set of hopes for the future.
Of course, no one is expecting Arizona to make any sort of run this season, but with Murray and a roster full of youngsters, the Cards may have some promise for the long haul.
Here are three priorities for the Cardinals going into training camp:
3. Don't Set any Expectations
The last thing you want to do with a young team with a rookie quarterback is to apply any added pressure.
Let's be real: the Cardinals are not going to be good this coming season, and there are going to be a whole lot of growing pains. As a result, placing any expectations on this club will just make things tougher for the kids.
The key for Arizona in 2019 is to just go out there and have fun and let everything take care of itself.
No one is anticipating a playoff appearance or even a winning season for the Cardinals, so if they end up going 4-12, it really won't be that big of a deal.
As long as they are improving every day, that's all that matters.
2. Find Ways to Get David Johnson Back on Track
The last two years have been tough for David Johnson.
In 2017, he suffered a wrist injury and missed all but one game. In 2018, he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
For a guy who broke out with 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2016, that has to be tough, but if the Cardinals are going to take any positives out of this, it's that Johnson, who is still just 27 years old, has proven he can perform at a high level.
Of course, it didn't help that Johnson was running behind a horrific offensive line that saw 11 different linemen playing 100 snaps, so putting together a cohesive offensive line unit will be the main way to help Johnson recharge and get back to playing the way he did three years ago.
Perhaps the addition of J.R. Sweezy, who is replacing the injury-plagued Mike Iupati at left guard, will serve as an impetus.
1. Establish a Connection Between Kyler Murray and Christian Kirk
Yes, Larry Fitzgerald is still in tow, but he is not going to be around when Murray begins establishing himself in the NFL a couple of years down the line.
The receiver with whom Murray really needs to establish a connection is Christian Kirk, who is coming off of a solid rookie campaign and is apparently looking great during the offseason.
The Cardinals drafted Kirk in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft for a reason. This kid had a solid career at Texas A&M, and while he is just 5-foot-11 and isn't incredibly fast, he is an outstanding route runner and already showed that he was beyond his years in that category during his rookie season.
If Murray truly is Arizona's signal-caller of the future, Kirk is going to end up being his main guy with whom he ascends.
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