Top 3 areas Arizona Cardinals must address this offseason

The Arizona Cardinals have a roster full of holes on both offense and defense, but some position needs are more pressing than others. 

There is a growing consensus among the Arizona Cardinals fanbase who would like to see the team start over with a new quarterback. And while I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kyler Murray last season, I’m going to say this: Like it or not, he will be your starting quarterback in 2023. 

Not that the Cardinals won’t sign a quality, starting-caliber player at the position. If Murray’s recovery time from his ACL tear looks longer than anticipated, you can certainly expect the Redbirds to bring in a Derek Carr type of player so they have at least a remote chance of being competitive early.

But as it stands, the Cardinals have more pressing needs. Let’s explore them.

1 – Edge Rusher

J.J. Watt logged 12.5 sacks this past season for the Arizona Cardinals, but this position is barren now that he is retiring. Zach Allen has looked good, but he also isn’t enough. Plus, neither Watt nor Allen were or are edge rushers.

Thankfully, the Cardinals chose a good year to be really thin at the position, as the 2023 NFL Draft has a pretty stacked class at edge. One reason the Cardinals will hold onto the third overall pick would be so they can snag one of those rushers.

2 – Cornerback

Marco Wilson stepped up and saved this position group from being an absolute disaster. You can expect Wilson to, at worst, fill the CB2 role in 2023. Byron Murphy Jr. was supposed to be the bona-fide CB1 this past season. But injuries derailed that, and he could be wearing a different uniform in 2023 if the Arizona Cardinals don’t re-sign him.

The Cardinals could use their second round pick to address the position, which would give them an immediate contributor to pair with Wilson. There is also the possibility they pick someone up in free agency.

3- Interior offensive line

I don’t see the Cardinals prioritizing this position in the NFL Draft, but you will likely see them turn to free agency. Not that the group isn’t important, but the Redbirds need to get into a position where they are both scoring points and stopping opponents from scoring points.

Therefore, they will try to build a line through both free agency, and between Rounds 3 and 5 in the upcoming draft. They could have one guard position solved with Lecitus Smith, but other than that, the center/guard positions are barren.

Overall, the Arizona Cardinals have a few pressing areas of need, but the aforementioned sections outline the most dire. Others include running back and interior defensive line. The good news, however, is that with a new regime coming in to run the show, you may see these holes filled faster than they were during the Keim era.

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