The 2011 NFL Draft will forever be one of my favorites. So many big names came from that class. Cam Newton was the first overall pick that year by the Carolina Panthers, Von Miller was drafted, Julio Jones was another and we can’t forget J.J. Watt either. Another name linked to that draft class is A.J. Green. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals and had an immediate impact. Throughout his career, injuries have slowed him down. After speculations of moving on from the Bengals, it’s finally happened. The Arizona Cardinals are signing the veteran wide receiver to a one-year deal.
When healthy, he is still a guy that can have an impact upon an offense. As a receiver, he has great bounce along with great hands. A.J. can do it all whether he’s running the deep route down the field, running the intermediate route over the middle, or taking a screen pass up the field for a touchdown. His body control has also stood out to me because he positions himself in a way to catch the ball near the sidelines while staying in bounds. His catch radius is incredible. It’s the one-handed catches, the acrobatic catches. It’s never too much for him. His speed with the ball in his hands for a man his size stands out.
The Cardinals continue to be active this off-season. They signed J.J. Watt to bolster their defense. Just last season, they shocked us all and acquired DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. Now, they have another possession target for Kyler Murray. They don’t need A.J. to be the guy he was in Cincinnati early on in his career. At this point, he’d be the number two option behind Hopkins. Just imagine if Larry Fitzgerald comes back for one more year.
