New Cardinals OC Byron Leftwich Resurrects Larry Fitzgerald, David Johnson and the Rest of the Offense

Was Byron Lefwich the answer in the desert?

There wasn’t a stranger visual during Week 8 than seeing Marshall legend Byron Leftwich donning the Cardinals’ coaching attire, equipped with the headset, on the sideline of State Farm Stadium in Glendale. With the black-hole that is Mike McCoy out as offensive coordinator in the desert, Leftwich got his chance as a play-caller, and took advantage during his team’s 18-15 win over the 49ers. The former quarterback produced the team’s first 300-plus yard game this season and got Josh Rosen, Larry Fitzgerald, David Johnson and Christian Kirk into a rhythm for the first time this season. When he was handed over the reigns of the offense, Leftwich wanted to get Johnson more touches and revive the corpse that is Larry Fitz.

He did just that, and their respective fantasy owners should be even more optimistic following this week’s bye, where they’ll be able to get on the same page as their new play-caller and iron out the kinks. Fitz finished the day with a season-high 102 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions, while DJ racked up 100 total yards for the second time this season on a much-needed 20 touches.

The offense will run through Johnson, but if Leftwich can unlock Rosen’s talent, that’s what will be the game-changer for this fantasy group. We all know he’s built a rapport with fellow rookie, Christian Kirk, but targeting Fitzgerald will always be a positive. Rosen has the built-in swagger and arm talent that should make him successful, and learning from a competitor such as Leftwich will only do wonders for his development.

We’ll see the potential of this offense when they take on two very beatable secondaries with the Chiefs and Raiders when the Cardinals’ return from their bye week.

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