Free agency is a couple of weeks away and the Arizona Cardinals have a number of decisions to make. They have a bunch of soon-to-be free agents at important positions.
Pro Football Focus ranked the top 100 players scheduled to be free agents.
The Cardinals have four players listed.
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DL Zach Allen (No. 24)
Allen had a career season in 2022. He also missed time with injuries for the fourth consecutive season.
The Cardinals want him back and believe he wants to be back.
Allen has taken advantage of mentorship from future first-ballot Hall of Famer J.J. Watt early in his career, and he took a big leap in 2022. Allen earned his first run-defense grade above 60.0 and first pass-rush grade above 70.0, with a career-best 35 quarterback pressures and 8.3% pressure rate.
Allen could be a big benefactor of the pending market explosion among interior defenders, though he will land in the second or third tier of the position group.
CB Byron Murphy (No. 43)
Murphy was playing the best ball of his career in 2022 before a back injury ended his season after nine games.
As a cornerback, he could end up getting a huge contract, but the back injury could impact the offers he gets.
Murphy boosted his stock this season by playing primarily on the outside after splitting reps with a skew toward the slot over his first three seasons, and he earned the highest overall (66.7) and coverage (63.9) grades of his career in the process.
Murphy will be 25 through the entire 2023 regular season, and his inside-outside flexibility makes him an intriguing option for a lot of teams in need of help in the secondary.
OL Kelvin Beachum (No. 73)
Beachum was the only offensive player to start all 17 games. He was the only starting offensive lineman not to land on injured reserve.
But with Josh Jones waiting to take over a starting role, the Cardinals might let the veteran tackle go.
Beachum earned his 10th straight season-long pass-blocking grade above 70.0 and showed few signs of slowing down at 33 years old, logging over 1,100 snaps with a revolving door of lineman teammates at each of the other four positions all season long.
He’s limited as a run blocker, and that won’t change, but you know what you’re going to get with Beachum at right tackle, and you’re likely going to get tremendous value considering he’s coming off a two-year, $4 million deal signed in 2021.
OL Will Hernandez (No. 80)
Hernandez most certainly would have been a priority to re-sign had the previous coaching staff remained.
That might change now, but he was solid in 2022. The Cardinals need to shore up their interior offensive line and Hernandez could be part of that.
Hernandez earned a career-high 79.1 pass-blocking grade in 2022, which ranked tied for eighth among guards. His 3.0% pressure rate allowed ranked 13th at the position, and he held up on true pass sets, as well, ranking top 15 in both metrics. He’s a bit more limited as a run blocker, failing to reach a season-long grade of at least 65.0 over his five-year career, but his above-average pass protection should make him an intriguing target for a handful of clubs.
The five-year veteran spent time on IR with a pectoral injury during the season but was able to return for the final month. He signed a minimum contract for 2022 but should be able to boost that a bit going forward.
