Carson Palmer’s first season in Arizona wasn’t fantastic. But that’s generally the conclusion being made when looking at his cumulative, season-long statistics. The truth is, Palmer turned things around dramatically down the stretch last year.

Prior to the Cardinals’ Week 9 bye last year, Palmer had compiled a -35.02 Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) score, better than only Josh Freeman, Geno Smith and Blaine Gabbert. Over the final eight games, Palmer increased this number to 25.80, a shift of 60.82 points. Had he performed that well over the first half of the season, Palmer’s total Passing NEP – a hypothetical 121.64 – would have ranked fourth-best in the NFL.

He’s got weapons in Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, and Andre Ellington adds a passing game dimension out of the backfield as well. Bruce Arians is a vertical passing coach, which brings big plays to real and fake football.

Not only could Palmer become a season-long QB1, but his Week 1 matchup against a San Diego defense that ranked 26th against the pass according to our metrics last year could mean a nice performance. He’s only owned in 31.4% of ESPN.com leagues due to the massive depth at quarterback, and is a perfect streaming option for Week 1.