Can Kyler Murray get the Cardinals to the playoffs?
While most sportsbooks have pegged either the Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers as the favorites to take the NFC West in 2025, it would be unwise to discount a maturing Arizona Cardinals team.
Arizona went 8-9 in their second year under head coach Jonathan Gannon, improving from their 2023 mark of 4-13. They scored the most points among all NFC West teams with 400, ranking behind only the Detroit Lions (564), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (502), Washington Commanders (485), Philadelphia Eagles (463), Green Bay Packers (460), and Minnesota Vikings (432) in the NFC. For those keeping score (pun intended), all the teams ahead of the Cardinals made the playoffs in 2024.
Arizona also held a 3-5 record in one-score games. As they continue to round out their young roster, it wouldn’t take much for them to flip games to the win column and make the division race interesting this year.
Week 1 at Buffalo Bills: Loss, 34-28
Week 3 vs Detroit Lions: Loss, 20-13
Week 5 at San Francisco 49ers: Win, 24-23
Week 7 vs Los Angeles Chargers: Win, 17-15
Week 8 at Miami Dolphins: Win, 28-27
Week 13 at Minnesota Vikings: Loss, 23-22
Week 16 at Carolina Panthers: Loss, 36-30 (OT)
Week 17 at Los Angeles Rams: Loss, 13-9
What went wrong?
I’d probably call 2024 mostly a success for the Cardinals. They continued making progress after Gannon inherited an aging and untalented roster from former general manager Steve Keim.
The Arizona offense is downright dangerous. They can grind you out on the ground. Murray is inconsistent, but he’s shown high-end flashes as a potentially elite playmaker. The pass catching corps is talented. If it all comes together, we could see more consistent production from Murray.
Key extensions:
Trey McBride, TE
Evan Brown, G
Zay Jones, WR
Baron Browning, EDGE
Free agent signings:
Josh Sweat, EDGE
Dalvin Tomlinson, DL
Calais Campbell, DL
Mykal Walker, MLB
Jake Curhan, OT
Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB
LJ Collier, DL
Jacoby Brissett, QB
Losses:
Julian Okwara, EDGE
Roy Lopez, DT
Zach Pascal, WR
2025 draft class:
Walter Nolen, DT – Round 1
Will Johnson, CB – Round 2
Jordan Burch, EDGE – Round 3
Cody Simon, MLB – Round 4
Denzel Burke, CB – Round 5
Hayden Connor, iOL – Round 6
Kitan Crawford, DB – Round 7
Nolan was one of my favorite prospects towards the back of the first round. He’ll join the NFC West interior pass rush community filled with the likes of Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, and Byron Murphy.
Will Johnson is somewhat of a gamble in the second round. He was available when the Rams instead picked TE Terrance Ferguson and reportedly fell out of the first round because of questions surrounding the long-term health of his knee.
Both Nolan and Johnson should get plenty of playing time early for Arizona.
Players over 30:
Jacoby Brissett, QB; 32
James Conner, RB; 30
Zay Jones, WR; 30
Kelvin Beachum, OT; 35
Calais Campbell, DL; 38
Dalvin Tomlinson, DL; 31
Final thoughts:
Simply put, the Cardinals’ roster is rounding into form and in much better shape than it was just two years ago. This particularly extends to the defense, which know includes the likes of Campbell, Tomlinson, Browning, Sweat, last year’s first round pick Darius Robinson, and Budda Baker.
I wonder if Arizona has done enough to help Murray from a pass catcher perspective. McBride is one of the best tight ends in the NFL, a lack of touchdown productive aside. At receiver they have Marvin Harrison, Jr., Michael Wilson, Zay Jones, and Greg Dortch. This may force MHJ into the vertical threat, but he’s probably best-served as a high volume intermediate option. They need one more piece likely.
It’s easy to say these are the same old Cardinals and believe they will fade down the back half of next season. It’s not difficult to compare depth charts and notice that from top to bottom Arizona is in better shape than the 49ers.
I think they will finish as the second-best team in the NFC West and could push the Rams for the division title. Week 18 in Los Angeles may be a winner take all battle.
