Let’s face it, the Arizona Cardinals are under the radar in terms of national attention in the NFL. At the same time, it is understandable seeing as how they have been as a team the last two seasons and having a new regime with Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon. Almost nothing was going right for the Cardinals in the last two years. In 2022, there were tensions growing in the building surrounding former head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray was not playing great before tearing his ACL. Then in the first half of the last season, the Cardinals just simply did not have the talent to be competitive throughout the season with quarterbacks like Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune.
Once Murray came back into the lineup, the Cardinals looked more respectable but a lot of work was needed this past offseason from the front office. Ossenfort got to work and delivered one of the best offseasons for the Cardinals in a long time. Not only did he bring in key free agent veterans that will be perfect fits on both sides of the ball, he drafted one of the best rookie draft classes for the Cardinals in a long time. Arizona now has a young and upcoming number one wideout in Marvin Harrison Jr., a young pass rusher who has high potential, and young secondary players who can learn from guys like Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker.
While the Cardinals still have a tough schedule in 2024, there is a lot more promise for them as an organization moving forward. However, they are not getting enough credit for what they have been able to accomplish, which will actually help them exceed expectations.
The Cardinals being overlooked will help them in the long run.
Teams like the Chicago Bears and New York Jets are teams who have been disappointing in recent memory but have been endlessly covered are expected to go far this season. The more expectations that a team has, the higher the pressure is. The Bears have put together a fantastic offense this offseason around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, while the Jets will have Aaron Rodgers back with the same weapons, same defense and better protection. However, both teams have not been able to be successful in many years.
The Cardinals have the advantage of not being recognized as much so the pressure is not as big. While players like Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. have pressure themselves, the Cardinals as an organization are looking to just get back to being competitive from the last two seasons.