Going position by position, have the Arizona Cardinals improved their roster or declined in talent?
It is the biggest question of every offseason. Has your favorite team done enough to be better than the previous season?
For the Arizona Cardinals, that will be a very polarizing question, with most fans probably coming down on the negative side of the equation.
There is no denying the Cardinals had a relatively quiet free agency period, and the most significant move came with a first-round trade for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. However, it was nothing like the uproar of the past two seasons, which saw the additions of DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt.
Free agency also saw vital team pieces like Chandler Jones and Christian Kirk find new teams leaving holes on both sides of the ball.
We will take a look at the major position groups, excluding quarterback as Kyler Murray looks poised to sign a major deal this summer, and try to grade them by Better, Equal, or Worse.
So did the Arizona Cardinals do enough to replace the departures and have a better roster than they did in 2021?
The Arizona Cardinals’ secondary started 2021 strong but faltered down the stretch. Will it be a strength in 2022?
Before a string of injuries across the secondary tested its depth, it looked like the position group would be one of the highlights of the 2021 Cardinals squad, with the core group of Robert Alford, Byron Murphy Jr., Marco Wilson, Budda Baker, and Jalen Thompson playing lights out defense.
Although there was a noticeable drop off in the quality of play, the Cardinals still finished the season 7th in passing yards allowed and 8th in passing touchdowns allowed. In fact, it can certainly be argued the group carried the entire defense through some abysmal performances against the run.
Out of last season’s core, four out of five are definitely returning, making 10-year vet Robert Alford the lone man out. He is not currently signed with the team but remains available.
The only free agent addition to the secondary was former Minnesota Viking CB Jeff Gladney, who tragically passed away in a motor vehicle accident in late May.
Christian Matthews was the only defensive back added by the Cardinals in the draft after being selected 244th overall in the 7th round. A product of Valdosta State University, Matthews is clearly intended as a depth/project player and should not be expected to start in 2022.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
As it stands right now, the secondary can only be judged without Robert Alford, who had a team-high 68.5 coverage grade from PFF in 2021 and was generally considered the best coverage corner on the team.
Since there have been no other additions to this group, it must be judged to be Worse.
There remains a good chance that Alford returns to Arizona, in which case the rating would likely rise to Equal. However, the valid question remains: is this lineup good enough to keep pace with NFC West?
The Arizona Cardinals linebacker room took some major hits this offseason and looks very different heading into 2022.
Of the three main groups on defense, it looks like the linebacker position will have the most noticeable changes this season.
Two of the main contributors in 2021 are no longer with the team, and their absence could have a massive impact on the production we see from this group in 2022.
Most notably, future Hall of Famer Chandler Jones signed a big contract with the Las Vegas Raiders after recording 71.5 sacks in six seasons as a Cardinal. The team also lost Jordan Hicks, who is now on a 2-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones was the sack leader in 2021 with 10.5, and Hicks was the defense’s primary play-caller for 97% of all defensive snaps. So the loss of these pieces is undoubtedly noticeable, particularly given the unknowns of their replacements.
Infamously, the Arizona Cardinals drafted two inside linebackers in back-to-back first rounds in 2019 and 2020. Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins barely touched the field in their respective rookie seasons, and a lot is still to be seen from both players. However, whether or not they are ready, Simmons and Collins are slated to be the inside linebacker duo of the future.
At outside linebacker, veterans Markus Golden and Devon Kennard return alongside the drafted additions of 3rd-rounders Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders.
Golden played well in 2021, and Kennard was outstanding against the run, but pass rush production will be a huge question mark with the team relying on a pair of rookies to replace the legendary Chandler Jones.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
The loss of key pieces and the unknowns of multiple young players make this a relatively easy one. Unfortunately, it looks like this position has gotten worse.
The Arizona Cardinals’ defensive line will be tasked with doing a better job against the run in 2022.
The run defense was a major problem last season, and many of those issues originated in the lack of stopping power along the defensive line.
Allowing an average run of 4.6 yards and almost 2,000 yards on the ground is not a recipe for sustained success. Moreover, it significantly impairs the ability of the secondary to defend through the air as well.
Even with these issues, the team only made one real move with this position group signing free agent Kingsley Keke. This could be an underrated signing, as he is ranked 43rd out of 109 NFL interior defenders by PFF.
They re-signed DE Michael Dogbe, and DT Corey Peters is still unsigned today.
The major hopes for this group will have to be that J.J. Watt is healthy and available through the entirety of next season. Additionally, it has to be hoped that Watt will mentor the young players at the position like Zach Allen, Leki Fotu, and Rashard Lawrence and that they will grow into their roles.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
This one is a bit hard to judge, considering so much has to be assumed about the health of Watt, but the addition of Keke is interesting, and he brings some additional tools to the room to supplement the other young players.
Overall, I would judge this position group to be Equal. No better, no worse.
The Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line has historically gotten a lot of hate, some warranted but some undeserved.
Since the dark, dark days of 2018, Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Sean Kugler has done an admirable job turning this position group around. At the end of 2021, PFF ranked the group in the middle of the league at No. 15.
Veterans D.J. Humphries, Justin Pugh, Rodney Hudson, and Kelvin Beachum are returning, and all look to remain starters in their given roles.
The addition of Rodney Hudson through a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason went a long way to solidifying the group, and his presence was sorely missed in the games he was absent due to injury.
D.J. Humphries had a down year compared to 2020, but Pugh and Beachum remained fairly steady and played at a starting caliber.
This position group will look essentially the same as 2021, with one big question remaining at right guard, which was shaky, to say the least, last season.
The Cardinals added former Giants G Will Hernandez in free agency and drafted young linemen Lecitus Smith and Marcus Hayes on Day Three. It looks like Hernandez is the leading option at R.G., but he may have to compete with Justin Murray and the young draftees to solidify his starting role.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
After the inconsistencies of the R.G. position last season, having a battle for the position with a good mix of experienced and young players lends hope to the thought that the best man will be starting at the spot come Week One.
However, since there are questions surrounding each potential starting R.G., this position group should be graded as Equal. There is good reason to believe the offensive line will remain steady in 2022.
The Arizona Cardinals currently have many options in the running back room.
There are seven running backs on the Cardinals’ roster as of the writing of this article. However, by the time the season begins, that number will most likely be cut down to four. Which four will be an intriguing question as the team works through training camp.
In 2021, James Conner and Chase Edmonds split the majority of snaps at the position and filled very different roles on the team. Notably, Conner flourished in the red zone and became a touchdown machine for the Cardinals, with 15 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Edmonds left the team in free agency for a deal with the Miami Dolphins, but Conner was re-signed to a 3-year, $21 million contract during the offseason.
Eno Benjamin and Jonathan Ward have been on the squad for a few years now and have floated around the bottom of the depth chart, although both have shown flashes in limited snaps.
Keaontay Ingram was drafted out of USC and has garnered some attention at rookie mini-camp. After a stint with the Kansas City Chiefs, Darrell Williams was added through free agency.
Williams is intriguing, and his 5-foot-11 and 224 pounds size puts him in the category of more extensive running backs similar to Conner. He was productive last season as a Chief, with over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns from scrimmage.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
Currently, it looks like the Cardinals will utilize a combination of Conner and Williams to make opponents pay with bigger backs that can throw their weight around and run downhill.
Williams seems like an upgrade over Edmonds in many ways, and the depth of Benjamin, Ward, and Ingram make the running back position one of the deepest on the team.
There are few worries from this group, and it certainly seems the running backs have gotten Better.
The Arizona Cardinals boast one of the best receivers in the game, DeAndre Hopkins, but his absence for six games raises some questions.
Three of the top four receiving options for Kyler Murray in 2021 are still with the team. DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, and Rondale Moore will return with the fourth-year quarterback for another round.
Christian Kirk left in free agency for a surprise mega-deal from the Jacksonville Jaguars that put him in the tier of top-paid receivers.
DeAndre Hopkins is clearly the No. 1 option in the wide receiver room. Still, the news of his six-game suspension for PEDs put a damper on expectations for this position group in 2021. It most likely necessitated the Arizona Cardinals’ one significant move this off-season.
During the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Cards surprised the league by trading away the No. 23 pick for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Brown will likely be relied on to replace a good deal of the production lost by the absence of Hopkins in the early part of the season. After a 1,000+ yard season in 2021, he has many of the skillsets required to accomplish that.
Moore had some flashes in his rookie campaign and should be primed for an increased role in the slot after losing Kirk.
A.J. Green was enjoying a resurgence of his career in Arizona early last season but dipped off as the season progressed and as he became expected to fill in the No. 1 role with the injured Hopkins being out of the lineup.
Better, Equal, or Worse?
If Marquise Brown can live up to expectations and pull the Cardinals through the first six weeks of the season without Hopkins, the wide receiver group should be on solid ground.
After the return of their No. 1 option, the Cardinals will field one of the most interesting receiver rooms in the league.
Overall, this position has gotten better with the addition of Brown and the re-signing of A.J. Green.