One NFL writer may have placed the weight of the world on Kyler Murray's shoulders

A healthy Kyler Murray is drawing the attention of the larger NFL world.

When he is at his best, he had the Arizona Cardinals' offense looking semi-unbeatable. That hasn't been the case, however, since the midpoint of the 2021 season.

Two years later, Judy Battista, a senior columnist for NFL.com , placed Murray as a "dark horse" Most Valuable Player candidate leading into the 2024 season.

"He’s healthy and thinks he’s had one of the best offseasons of his career, and he’s building off a very strong finish to 2023. Murray returned from his 2022 ACL injury in Week 10 last season, but he and the Cardinals offense really took off in the final four games of the campaign – he completed 70.3 percent of his passes for 935 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions," Battista writes.

"In that span, the Cardinals led the league in total offense, with 414.3 yards per game. And now rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. -- who has earned raves in the offseason -- is added to the mix. When Murray is healthy, he’s one of the most thrilling players in football. The Cardinals will have to win a lot more games for Murray to catch voters’ eyes, but if Murray can pick up where he left off last year, and if Harrison explodes in his rookie season, Murray could at least position himself for future MVP consideration."

Cardinals tight end Trey McBride went as far as to say this could be one of Murray's best seasons – based on how the star quarterback has performed during offseason workouts.

Arizona has also given Murray needed offensive weapons, headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr., the team's first-round draft selection.

For Murray to win MVP, it would take Arizona outperforming most expectations.

The consensus around the league is that Arizona is waiting until the 2025 season to push all its chips into the center of the table.

If Murray is the reason the team finds success during the 2024 season, it is easy to see a world where he is competing for an MVP trophy.

Also on the list of dark horse MVP candidates were Jared Goff, Tyreek Hill, Christian McCaffrey, Micah Parsons, Tua Tagovailoa, C.J. Stroud, and Jordan Love.

Related: Kyler Murray's key teammate indicates the Cardinals' signal-caller could be better than ever

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