Arizona Reinforcements: How a Healthy Kyler Murray and James Conner Impact Fantasy Football Outlooks for Marquise Brown, Trey McBride and Others

It’s been a disappointing season for the Arizona Cardinals. The team has been fairly competitive most weeks, but is just 1-8 going into week 10.

The positive news is that the team is getting back a couple big-time offensive players in quarterback Kyler Murray and running back James Conner. Murray will be playing his first game of the season, while Conner is expected to return after missing the past several weeks. 

With two offensive playmakers back, how will that affect some of the other offensive options the team has? Let’s dive in.

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Quarterback Fantasy Outlook

The Cardinals started Joshua Dobbs the first eight weeks, and he played pretty solid. Clayton Tune started in week 9 and had a rough go of things. Even though he’ll need to work off some rust, Murray immediately becomes the team’s top quarterback to play this season.

Murray has been one of the better fantasy quarterbacks in the game since he entered the league. He was a dual-threat QB, so I’m most interested to see how much running he does after the injury.

He’s a capable passer if he needs to be more of a pocket passer. He’s completed 66.8% of his passes over four seasons, throwing 84 touchdowns to 41 interceptions. Murray had between 3,700-4,000 passing yards in his first three seasons before throwing for 2,368 yards in 11 games last season.

Murray’s best year as a runner was in 2020, when he rushed for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns. In his other three seasons, he’s been between 400-550 rushing yards and 3-5 touchdowns.

The team might scale things back a bit so Murray can get back into the swing of things. There’s enough playmakers around him to make him a strong fantasy option, and the week 10 projections show that, as Murray debuts as the 10th-ranked guy.

Running Back Fantasy Outlook

Conner played in the first five games of the season before going down with an injury and being placed on injured reserve. He dominated the snaps and touches in weeks 1-5. Conner was one of the better fantasy backs in weeks 1-3 before a couple down weeks.

For the season, Conner has 76 touches - rushing for 364 yards and two touchdowns on 68 carries and adding 30 receiving yards on eight catches and 10 targets.

Coming off the injury and in the midst of a bad season, I would think the Cardinals split the backfield workload a bit more than they had early in the season. 

Emari Demercado and Keaontay Ingram have split the workload in Conner’s absence.

Demercado didn’t play in week 9 and it doesn’t look promising this week after a couple missed practices. He’s got 61 touches on the season - rushing for 195 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries and adding 64 receiving yards on 12 catches and 16 targets.

Ingram has 37 touches for the season and was the team’s lead back in week 9. He’s rushed 33 times for 72 yards and caught all four of his targets for 26 yards this season.

The Arizona backs should get a boost from Murray returning to the lineup, although if the team utilizes the quarterback as a ball carrier, he could also cut into the back’s fantasy values. Conner is ranked 13th in the projections for the upcoming week, while Demercado is ranked 49th.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

Marquise Brown is the team’s clear No. 1 wideout, and he should get a boost from Murray returning. Having a more proven back like Conner on the field should also open some things up for Brown.

Brown leads the team in targets (77), catches (42), yards (440) and touchdowns (4). He could jump up into the next tier of fantasy wideouts if he and Murray can develop a good connection.

Rookie Michael Wilson has had a solid season so far, with 401 yards and two touchdowns on 25 catches and 33 targets, but he missed last week with a shoulder injury.

Rondale Moore is the only other receiver who has really been a fantasy threat this season. Moore only has 128 receiving yards on 20 catches and 33 targets, but has added 150 yards and a touchdown as a ball carrier. I’ll be interested to see if his carries dry up with Conner back, or if he will replace Demercado or Ingram as the No. 3 back option.

Brown is ranked 23rd in the weekly projections. Wilson is 49th, while Moore is 50th.

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Zach Ertz is on injured reserve, so we will focus our attention on Trey McBride here.

McBride had kind of been an afterthought on offense until Ertz was injured, but a couple solid showings made him one of the top waiver wire options these past few weeks, and now he’s a pretty big part of the offense.

He’s had at least three catches in each of the past four contests, with two of those games going over 50 receiving yards. His breakout game was in week 8, when he caught 10-of-14 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown.

With a competent quarterback to throw him the ball, you have to like McBride’s chances to keep contributing, even if Ertz were to return at some point.

McBride is the 14th-ranked tight end in the week 10 projections.

Who to Start in Week 10

The Cardinals will be taking on the Atlanta Falcons in week 10. That sets up as a favorable matchup for any quarterback and tight end and tougher matchups for running backs and tight ends.

I know you probably have your doubts about Murray in his first game back, and I do too, but he’s got the potential to be one of the top fantasy quarterbacks any time he’s on the field, and in a favorable matchup, I’m good starting him right away.

If Conner plays, I’m skeptical of starting him because it’s his first game back and he’s barely played football over the past month. You might not have any better options, but I’d try to avoid him if I could. I’d feel better about Conner if Demercado cannot play.

If Conner doesn’t play, I’d expect Ingram to be the lead back for week 10. I would not start him in standard leagues. If Demercado is cleared to play, I’d expect it to be in a limited fashion, so I’d avoid him.

Brown is a wideout I’d try to start every week, and the tough matchup won’t stop me from starting him in week 10. His stock would jump up if Wilson doesn’t play again.

Speaking of Wilson, I’m not comfortable starting him or Moore in standard leagues, but would give them both some extra consideration in deeper leagues. I’d try to stay away given the tough matchup, but you might not have any better options.

Let’s cover McBride to wrap things up. I like McBride to bounce back this week and would confidently start him with the favorable matchup. Hopefully he and Murray click right away, and if they do, McBride might be a top-10 fantasy option at the position for the remainder of the season.

If Murray were to have a setback and Tune gets the start, scrap pretty much everything I’ve said and avoid Arizona players at all costs.