The Arizona Cardinals' roster is riddled with holes, needing upgrades throughout on both sides of the ball.
What Offensive Rookie of the Year winner Kyler Murray wants is a new weapon to play with in 2020. The quarterback has been stumping for the Cardinals to select former Oklahoma teammate CeeDee Lamb in the 2020 NFL Draft.
"Me and CeeDee have a great relationship," Murray recently told The Arizona Republic. "That's one of my boys. I would obviously be very fond of that pick. Obviously, I don't make the choices. I'm here for whatever, but I'm looking forward to free agency and us adding some great players and adding more of them in the draft so we can continue to grow this thing. But yeah, if we pick CeeDee, that would be great. We have a very comfortable relationship. I've played with him, I've been with him for years, so yeah, I don't think that would be a bad pick at all."
Murray has been sharing his thoughts with general manager Steve Keim.
"From my text stream, you can tell Kyler likes him," Keim told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Lamb generated 1,327 yards receiving with 14 TDs on 62 receptions in 2019. With Murray in 2018, the 6-foot-2 wideout earned 1,158 yards and 11 touchdowns on 65 catches.
Along with Alabama's Jerry Jeudy, Lamb is considered one of the top wideouts in what could be a historically great draft at the position.
Lamb might not be a burner, but can separate from defensive backs at any level, owns good hands, has stellar route-running ability for a college player, can do damage after the catch, and has good instincts to help out his QB when the play breaks down.
Keim went so far as to compare Lamb to DeAndre Hopkins.
"You watch CeeDee Lamb and there are some things that come to mind when I watch him that remind me a little bit of DeAndre Hopkins," he said. "You talk about a guy that maybe isn't the fastest vertically, but his gritty, tough and runs great routes."
What team couldn't use a DeAndre Hopkins-type player?
The question is whether Keim wants to allocate more of his resources to the receiver position with the No. 8 overall pick. The Cards spent second-round picks on Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella the past two seasons. Kirk looks like he could be in line for a potential breakout season in 2020. Would using a top-10 pick to pair Lamb, Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald make the Cardinals' offense unstoppable, or leave too many leaks elsewhere?
Arizona needs help along the offensive line, and the defense continues to warrant additions. Both are options with their first-round pick.
Even if there are more glaring needs, it should not stop Murray from asking to be paired with his former teammate in hopes of forming what could be a juggernaut tandem for years to come.
