Arizona Cardinals: WR Marquise Brown
The Arizona Cardinals receiving lineup was hurt when Christian Kirk left in free agency. Kirk entered the 2021 season third on the Cardinals wide receiver depth chart. He was the Cardinals leading receiver with a career-high 77 catches for 982 yards and five touchdowns on the season. He now plays with the Jacksonville Jaguars after signing a four-year contract worth $72 million.
As if Kirk’s exit was not enough, no.1 wideout DeAndre Hopkins will serve his 6-game suspension at the on-set of the season. The Cardinals assured that its bold move to maintain the lethal receiving room goes unhampered with the entry of Marquise Brown.
The Cardinals gave away their overall 23rd pick and a third round pick in lieu of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. The move augmented Arizona’s offense with a big-play wideout with respectable numbers.
The 24-year old receiver is coming off a career-best season where he racked up 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. The feat is his third straight season with at least that many receiving scores.
As of the moment, Brown is under the active/non-football injury list with a hamstring issue. Despite this setback, The team is happy with his progress as Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury beamed about Brown’s initial moments with the team. Kingsbury further stated of Brown’s excellent speed that will go toe-to-toe with QB Kyler Murray’s passes.
Los Angeles Rams: WR Allen Robinson II
Wide Receiver Allen Robinson played with the Chicago Bears in the 2021-2022 season. He did not fare well during that campaign. Despite his second straight year with more than 1,100 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns, the period was disappointing for the wideout.
Unfortunately, Robinson did not blend well with Chicago’s rookie quarterback Justin Fields. He only caught 38 passes for 410 yards and a touchdown. It was the worst season in professional football.
The Los Angeles Rams are still reliant on the 28-year-old Robinson, confident that he still has more to offer to the team. Similarly, the Rams did a similar rehab last season when they recruited Odell Beckham Jr. on his release from the Cleveland Browns.
Sad to say, Beckham suffered a torn ACL in the 2022 Super Bowl Finals that left him an unsigned agent.
The Rams needed an immediate replacement for Beckham. In addition, the team’s got to have a wideout that can work in tandem with Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson. The franchise turned to Allen Robinson to fill the void left by Beckham.
Additionally, this is a great opportunity for Robinson to take advantage on lighter matchups that Matt Stafford can take advantage of. Meanwhile, Kupp can set to draw the opponents’ tough cornerbacks that will provide a path for Robinson to glide in the gridiron.
San Francisco 49ers: WR/KR Ray-Ray McCloud
Several teams did not perform well during the 2021-2022 seasons. One of those unfortunate ball clubs was the San Francisco 49ers who struggled to secure a spot in the playoffs but was hindered by poor performances in the last season.
The 49ers highl-lighted the problem and decided to pull in return specialist and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud. The part-time wideout caught the attention of San Francisco when he played as Pittsburgh’s third receiver and managed to haul in a career-best 39 passes for 277 yards.
McCloud was the Steelers’ primary return specialist, returning 28 kickoffs for 646 yards and 29 punts at an average of 10.7 yards. He was named by Pro Football Focus on its All-Pro roster as a second-team return specialist. In 2021, McCloud led the NFL in total punt-return yards gained.
The wideout’s early years with the NFL saw him bouncing from one team to the other. He first played with the Buffalo Bills in 2018. Then to the Carolina Panthers next season. The last team he played with was the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In that 4-year period, The 25-year-old from the Clemson University Tigers stacked up nearly 3,000 return yards. He posted career highs with 38 punts returned for 367 yards and 35 kicks returned for 776 yards last season.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers on March 22, 2022.
His position as a pass catcher will likely decline with his new team as he will be playing behind at least Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk while also competing for targets with Tight End George Kittle. Consequently, McCloud’s primary value could be as a punt returner; he led the NFL with 367 punt return yards in 2021.
McCloud’s efficiency will improve the Giants’ areas of kick returns and punt returns. He’ll readily bring that spark San Francisco needs but has yet to deliver a return touchdown. Eventually, in his professional career, that should come sooner or later witn the talent he possesses.
Surely, San Francisco Head Coach Kyle Shanahan should also get some value out of McCloud. The wide receiver drew 66 targets and caught 39 of them for 277 yards last year. Shanahan expects that it will be much more in San Francisco’s high-powered attack.
Seattle Seahawks: RB Kenneth Walker III
Russell Wilson is out from the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has played for the Seahawks since 2011. Wilson and a fourth-round pick went to the Denver Broncos in a trade for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant.
The addition of RB Kenneth Walker III augmented the already deadly defensive line with Rashaad Penny. The healthy Penny made an amazing five-game coverage to cap 2021. Walker III will have ample opportunity to showcase his ware.
Firstly, he is one of the top running backs in his batch. Secondly, the B/R Scouting Department ranks him 44th and the second-best on their final NFL draft big board.
Seattle will be leaning much on this squad with a pair of underwhelming quarterbacks. Geno Smith and Drew Lock are fighting for the starting job that will likely see plenty of projectiles towards Penny, Walker and Chris Carson this season.