If you scan through Arizona Cardinals bets on various sportsbooks, a lot of the options are depressing.
Hey, look, they are the favorites in a category! Oh, it’s to finish the season 0-17.
But there are some wagers for the optimists out there. DraftKings has unveiled Cardinals-specific futures bets for the 2023 season, and a couple caught my eye.
The most intriguing among them? A parlay of wide receiver Hollywood Brown and running back James Conner to reach 1,000 yards in receiving and rushing, respectively.
The Cardinals will likely have Colt McCoy under center until Kyler Murray is ready, so the offense will almost certainly be terrible in the short-term, which is why this wager pays out at +350 odds.
Is this likely to hit? No. Is it impossible? No!
How Can Hollywood Brown Reach 1,000 Receiving Yards in 2023?
Hollywood Brown is, far and away, the Cardinals’ best pass-catcher.
In the first six games last season prior to a foot injury, he compiled 43 catches for 485 yards and three touchdowns, an average of 80.8 receiving yards per contest.
DeAndre Hopkins wasn’t playing with the Cardinals then because of a PED suspension, and won’t be now after being released. Murray was the quarterback for every one of those games, and his absence is a major reason why Brown is not expected to reach 1,000 receiving yards in 2023.
But if Brown can weather the early storm and accumulate a decent amount of yardage, there is the possibility of a strong finish with Murray back under center. The chemistry between the pair is clear, and Murray peppered Brown with targets when they played together in 2022 and back at Oklahoma in their college days.
There is no one else on the offense that poses a threat to Brown’s mantle as the No. 1 passing game target, and there is also the possibility of cheap garbage time yardage because Arizona will be trailing plenty this season.
Brown went over 1,000 receiving yards in 2021 and finished with 709 last year despite missing five games and playing with myriad quarterbacks.
It’s not outlandish to think he can reach quadruple digits this year, especially if Murray gets back sooner rather than later.
How Can James Conner Reach 1,000 Rushing Yards in 2023?
In his six-year NFL career, the 28-year-old running back has never reached 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
Conner is a bruiser who is effective in short-yardage situations but lacks the elite burst to rip off huge runs. He also has a long injury history and a spate of missed games would really make this a hard total to reach,
So why the optimism? He’s about to get rushing attempts by the truck full.
I had to mosey over to Ourlads in order to figure out the running back depth chart behind Conner, because once Eno Benjamin got cut last season my backup tailback knowledge dropped to zero.
Apparently there are guys named Keaontay Ingram, Corey Clement, Ty’Son Williams and Emari Demercado fighting for playing time behind Conner, but none have found great NFL success nor were drafted highly.
I’ll allow that running backs can often come from out of nowhere to make an impact — shout out Peyton Hillis! — but there is little reason to think Conner will face a time-share in 2023 based on the current personnel.
Now, Dalvin Cook is a big name that’s reportedly available for trade and a guy like Kareem Hunt is still a free agent, but I don’t think GM Monti Ossenfort will want to add anyone for more than the minimum in order to roll over as much cap space as possible to 2024.
And then there is this: new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing comes from Cleveland, which had the sixth-most efficient rushing attack last season. Nick Chubb finished with 1,525 rushing yards as the main back, and while Chubb is more talented than Conner, and the Cleveland offensive line is better than Arizona’s, the ground-and-pound philosophy could very well carry over.
Conner is not going to average 5.0 yards per carry in 2023 like Chubb, and he’s not going to reach 1,500 yards. But 4.0 yards per carry while squeaking past the 1,000 mark? Health permitting, he could pull that off.
Let’s be honest. Cardinals fans need a reason to stay invested all year long, as 2023 is setting up as a giant throwaway campaign.
By making this futures bet, you can stay locked in during the fourth quarter of a Week 13 blowout, in which you beg Petzing to give Conner the rock against a light box, and to feed Hollywood against a prevent defense.
Or you could go outside and enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon. To each their own.
