An offensive lineman might not ever reach the top spot on a man’s best friend list, but if that man is a quarterback, he has to be pretty close.
Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries can then take pride in the fact quarterback Kyler Murray is naming a new dog after his blindside protector.
“He really cares about me,” Humphries said, via Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. “He told me he was either going to name it Hump Jr., Lil D.J. or Sen-fo. Sen-fo is a short, abbreviated Southern way to say 74 (Humphries’ jersey number). That was my No.1 suggestion, but we’re waiting to see.”
Either way, Humphries has been impressed with his second-year quarterback, for the strides the former top overall pick (of the litter) made during an unusual offseason.
“Listen I made a pretty big jump from my rookie year to my second year, right? Yes,” Humphries said. “That was with what I started with as a rookie. Now when we transfer and we talk about Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray, just imagine the attention to detail that this guy’s been locked in on all offseason. I mean, the way this kid focuses, it’s hard to compare it to any other rookie I’ve been around. I’ve never seen it.
“It’s fun and it’s refreshing to see, because he is so confident in himself and the way that he does stuff, you can tell that’s why he’s so focused on everything he does and the way he does stuff. He’s all about backing up what he says and how he feels about himself and it’s so refreshing to see. That’s the energy I want from my quarterback. I’m so excited to watch this kid go from Year One to Year Two. It’s going to be exciting.”
Especially if Hump Sr. and the rest of the line improves on the 48 sacks allowed last year, and Murray has more of a chance to make more plays.