Ask Odegard: Can Clayton Tune Beat Out Colt McCoy As Cardinals’ Early-Season Quarterback?

The first mailbag was such a smashing success that it’s time for a second.

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On to the Q&A.

K Rich: I know it’s early but does Tune have a chance at starting until Kyler is ready? Or is McCoy clearly the guy to beat for the job week 1?

Kyle Odegard: Colt McCoy is a below average quarterback, and the opportunity is certainly there for Clayton Tune to seize if he wows the coaches. However, there is a reason he lasted until the fifth round of the draft despite playing the game’s most crucial position.

The success of Brock Purdy last year allows that it’s not impossible for instant success, but I’d be shocked if Tune makes a run at the starting job. Most late-round quarterback fliers become Ryan Lindley or Logan Thomas, not a capable quarterback like Purdy.

I’m not trying to speak ill of Tune, because I haven’t seen him play, but history suggests McCoy’s vastly superior knowledge of the NFL game will make him the starter until Kyler returns. 

Advice for Clayton Tune – Approach each practice as if you're going to be the starter. https://t.co/Xxj9HFJijE

— Raising Zona (@RaisingZona) June 13, 2023

Cody Marmon: With Isaiah Simmons making a full time shift to safety, how much better does he make the Cardinals secondary, and should he have always been playing safety from day one?

KO: The Cardinals’ best shot at having a functional NFL defense indeed relies on the secondary. Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson are star safeties, while Isaiah Simmons and Marco Wilson have enough potential to be average or above in 2023. Simmons certainly elevates the potential of the group because of his athletic quotient, but it needs to turn into actual production.

I’ve said for quite awhile that Simmons did not seem like a fit at inside linebacker (because of his run defense) or edge rusher (because of his lack of pass-rush moves). Safety is definitely his best spot, but the Cardinals need to hide his deficiencies better than the prior staff.

Simmons isn’t a man-coverage guy, but if the Cardinals can deploy him like Kam Chancellor, they might finally be onto something in Year 4 of his career.

“Kam Chancellor, Jamal Adams, those guys didn’t play man coverage like that. They were rovers… You can devise a model that fits Isaiah Simmons.”

Great insight from my guy @DP_NFL ⬇️https://t.co/5lLmkQVAEP

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) June 23, 2023

Robert Nkemdiche’s Burner: What’s Kyler’s ceiling this year in terms of games started and performance? Feels like a lot of national folks are sleeping on him coming back from the injury and playing well given concerns about the roster.

KO: The Kyler Murray doubt is certainly in full effect, and from what I’ve been told, he is super motivated to get back on the field and re-establish himself as a star.

Kyler would love to stun everyone and return early, and if it were up to him, that’s what would happen. He started doing some straight-line running recently and is itching to get back on the field. But the Cardinals are trying to temper those expectations because they know keeping him sidelined for at least nine months is the best thing for his long-term prospects.

So I don’t expect him to play right away, but any talk of Kyler preferring to nurse the injury or sit out all year is nonsense. The guy is extremely motivated.

I’m excited to see him play once healthy. The ceiling to me would be around 13 games played in which he proves to be a good fit in the new offense. 

The quick-game stuff with Kliff Kingsbury never seemed to accentuate his strengths, and it will be good to see what Kyler looks like in a more run-oriented scheme that can take advantage of his deep ball and mobility on play-action. He won’t be the same rushing threat this season as he continues to recover from the ACL, but I think we should have a good idea about his upside by the end of the year.

Top Cardinals QB seasons by adj. total DYAR since 1981

Palmer 2015
Lomax 1984
Warner 2008
Murray 2020
Warner 2009
Plummer 2001
Chandler 1992
Lomax 1988
Murray 2021
Lomax 1987 https://t.co/S0NTWyPOgs

— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@FO_ASchatz) June 27, 2023

Craig Morgan: Who is your favorite former colleague and why is it me?

KO: It is Craig Morgan, and not because he gave me my first part- and full-time jobs in the industry. It’s because Craig Morgan is a fantastic person with a heart of gold and a sense of humor that can make a Queen’s Guard laugh. (OK, yeah, it’s the job thing.)

TheAdam027: Which sport? Okay I’ll do 1 for each of the major 4. 

(1) Who will win more games: Merrill or Gallen?
(2) Over/Under: Durant plays in 60 of the Suns 82 games next season
(3) How many All-Stars are currently in the Coyotes lineup?
(4) Can someone “Baxter Holmes” Mr. Bidwill?

KO: Testing out my cross-sports knowledge. I like it.
1) Gallen. This was sent before Kelly went on the IL, but the answer was always Gallen, as his peripherals are much stronger. Wins are finicky but give me the better pitcher.
2) Over. He might miss some time but this gets into major injury territory, and I think he avoids one.
3) A Coyotes question? Gulp. Ask my favorite former colleague Craig Morgan for that answer.
4) Investigative reporters for The Athletic and ESPN have spoken with multiple people in and around the Cardinals organization. We will see what comes of it.

Mugiwara: What number will MHJ wear next year?

KO: No. 88 like Dad? While all the focus is on Caleb Williams, it does feel like the Cardinals have a pretty solid shot at landing Marvin Harrison, Jr. Arizona holds two picks that could land in the top-5 or better, and if  Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are as good as expected, Harrison may not go higher than 3 in the draft.

The Cardinals could end up with the third pick on their own, or if they end up higher, they could also trade down. I’ve seen some Larry Fitzgerald comps for Harrison, and it would be pretty cool if he landed in the desert post-Fitz.

Currently starvin’ for Marvin. pic.twitter.com/TkjA0Ls3Ct

— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) June 25, 2023

MikalBridges25: How many All Stars will the Dbacks have?

KO: They should get three. Corbin Carroll and Zac Gallen are shoo-ins, while Ketel Marte’s recent hot streak has him deserving as well. Merrill Kelly just misses the cut in my eyes.

Monsterdemo21: Which second or third year players do you see making a jump in their play?

KO: You’d probably expect me to say Zaven Collins, Trey McBride and Cameron Thomas but I have serious questions about all those guys. Collins and Thomas need to show more to prove they are disruptive pass-rushers, while McBride needs to similarly take a major step forward to be penciled in as the tight end of the future.

My picks are actually Myjai Sanders and Marco Wilson. Sanders has some burst on the edge which excites me, but he has to get much tougher against the run and be a more consistent rusher. Wilson has a lot of experience for a young player and has the ability to settle in as a starting cornerback for a long time with a good year.

Flippin' into the week like…@MJW_era x #BirdGang pic.twitter.com/T1Ay4tdIJ9

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) June 12, 2023

Charles Mendoza: What’s Michael Wilson’s ceiling?

KO: I generally prefer to pump the brakes on any player drafted in Round 3 or later. I’m fine with people being optimistic, and the depth chart will certainly give him a chance to see the field as a rookie, but I need to see how he plays against NFL defensive backs in the regular season. 

Wilson doesn’t have to be a finished product this year, but let’s see how he looks in game action before making that forecast.

Blake Murphy: What’s wrong with Florio?

KO: I actually agree with his core philosophy, which is to question NFL teams rather than accepting what they say at face value, and he’s right in that the vast majority of the media is not critical enough in that regard.

Where he loses me is the over-the-top articles that border on conspiracy theories, and his unwillingness to back down after clearly taking the wrong stance. 

The dead of the offseason is florio’s time to shine https://t.co/ajoo5J7DQP

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) June 22, 2023

Does anyone truly believe Monti Ossenfort erred by attending Kyler Murray’s Heisman Trophy ceremony before the draft? Of course not. Ossenfort had a top-3 draft among any general manager, but Florio ignored that.

And Arizona admitted to making an impermissible phone call with Jonathan Gannon. I’m sure teams do that all the time, and they got caught. That’s a bad look for the Cardinals, but I don’t think there’s much more to it than that.

The NFL landscape would be better if more people reported the truth rather than regurgitate narratives from teams and agents like the Ian Rapoports of the world, but Florio is more troll than investigative reporter, which doesn’t help the cause.

AZFan28: Considering how depleted our defensive front seems, where would you rank the Cardinals defense as a whole? 1-32.

name one of these players besides Budda Baker and Zaven Collins pic.twitter.com/roDykeJXSd

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 13, 2023

KO: I’m going with last. The worst defenses last year, per Football Outsiders’ DVOA, were the Bears, Raiders and Falcons. Maybe Las Vegas stinks on that side of the ball again, but the other two should be markedly better.

The Cardinals finished No. 24 in defensive efficiency and then watched J.J. Watt, Zach Allen and Byron Murphy walk out the door. They were three of the team’s best defensive players last season and none were replaced in any meaningful way.

The front seven will likely be disastrous, and there are enough questions at cornerback to nickname the 2023 defense Swiss Cheese, because there are holes everywhere.