What You Need to Know:

• Kirk totaled 48 catches for 621 yards and 6 TDs in 14 games last year.
• He finished 58th among WRs in PPR points per game and 50th in non-PPR.
• His 3.4 catches and 44.4 yards per game were both 3-year lows.
• Kirk went from 8.3 targets per game in 2019 to 5.6 per game last year. Blame DeAndre Hopkins.
• Among 87 WRs with 50+ targets last year, Kirk ranked 53rd in yards per target, 76th in yards per route run and 76th in Pro Football Focus’ receiving grades. He finished 70th, 60th and 71st in those metrics in 2019.
• Kirk missed 2 games last year -- 1 with a groin injury and 1 on the COVID list. He missed 3 games with an ankle injury in 2019 and 4 games in 2018 with a broken foot.
• QB Kyler Murray and HC Kliff Kingsbury are back for year 3 in Arizona.
• The Cardinals also return Hopkins and added veteran WR A.J. Green and rookie WR Rondale Moore.
• But, as of early June, the team has not re-signed WR Larry Fitzgerald. The soon-to-be 38-year-old might retire. Fitzgerald averaged a 79% snap rate and 5.5 targets in his 13 games last season.
• Fitzgerald played 83% of his snaps in the slot last year. Kirk’s slot rates over the last 2 seasons: 36% and 17%.
• Kirk was more effective in the slot last year, averaging 1.41 yards per route run vs. 1.18 when lined up outside. Back in 2019, though, he averaged 1.40 yards per route run in the slot vs. 1.41 on the outside.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Kirk lost targets to DeAndre Hopkins last year and was inefficient for the 2nd straight season. The result was a WR58 finish in PPR points per game and WR50 in non-PPR.

The target competition might be even tougher in 2021. Hopkins is back; Larry Fitzgerald is gone; but Arizona added A.J. Green and Rondale Moore.

Kirk’s best shot at a bounce-back season might come if Arizona uses him to replace Fitzgerald as the primary slot receiver. We’ll keep an eye on his role in August.