Cardinals' Offensive Line Ranks Top Five in Pass Protection

In The Athletic's recent pass protection rankings, the Cardinals offensive line finishes as a top five unit.

When evaluating offensive line play for the Arizona Cardinals, a grain or two of salt must be taken. 

Through seven games, quarterback Kyler Murray has been sacked 15 times, tied for tenth-most in the league to this point. 

Murray's mobility, desire to extend plays (and sometimes decision-making) has led to a handful of sacks, so not all of those are on the offensive line. 

Murray's protection has seen plenty of interchangeable faces through the first seven weeks.

Guard Will Hernandez and tackles D.J. Humphries/Kelvin Beachum have played nearly every snap, but the consistency stops there in Arizona's trenches. 

D.J. Humphries this season

285 pass blocking snaps (most in the NFL)
ZERO sacks allowed pic.twitter.com/VAenVGA2bi

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 20, 2022

Center Rodney Hudson has already missed time this season, while the Cardinals will be without Justin Pugh the rest of the way with an ACL injury. 

Arizona has seen the likes of Cody Ford, Sean Harlow, Billy Price and Max Garcia fill in when needed in recent weeks. Capable bodies are appreciated, but continuity is appreciated above all along the offensive line. 

Despite what feels like constant shuffling, the Cardinals' line grades out as a top five unit in the league when it comes to pass protection according to metrics used by The Athletic's Larry Holder.

"I took a dive, with the massive assistance of TruMedia, into how every NFL team’s offensive line has performed in terms of quarterback pressures and sacks allowed. I focused mainly on pressure percentage for teams and individuals as a determining factor in who’s protecting or not protecting their respective quarterback well," said Holder. 

(Glossary: PRSR% — pressure percentage allowed; SK PER PRSR% — Rate at which pressure turns into a sack; PRSRS — total pressures allowed.)

League ranks are in parenthesis.

The Cardinals rank just behind the Buccaneers, Patriots, Bengals and Packers:

The Cardinals have also benefited from Hudson's play despite some issues getting the ball back to Murray. Hudson ranks as a top five center in the league when it comes to pass protection: 

Despite dealing with injuries, the Cardinals have somehow found a way to keep the pieces of the puzzle together. Arizona still has a long way to go, but at least pass protection hasn't been an issue in ensuring their franchise quarterback remains upright. 

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