Arizona Cardinals will face four of top five drafted QBs in 2024

Before the Arizona Cardinals went with their expected pick with Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4, they had to wait for the first three picks to be over with. The Chicago Bears went with Caleb Williams (just like we all saw coming), the Washington Commanders ended up taking LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, and the New England Patriots ended up taking UNC quarterback Drake Maye. 

Then after trading up with the New York Jets for the 10th pick, the Minnesota Vikings ended up selecting J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. The Cardinals should become familiar with these names as they will be across the field from Arizona this upcoming season. Arizona is set to host the Bears, Commanders and Patriots, while they will be visiting the Vikings. 

When facing rookie quarterbacks, they show flashes of potential for what they can bring for the future. However, it doesn’t mean that they will have immediate success. The NFL game is much different than in college. It’s faster, more physical, overall more demanding. That can take a toll on a rookie quarterback in this league. Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis will be looking to find a way to rattle them.

The Cardinals need to take advantage of facing these rookie quarterbacks, especially with their defense getting a little bit of a boost through free agency. However, Caleb Williams and J.J. McCarthy are walking into fantastic situations which could be a lot for the Cardinals’ defense to handle. Williams will be surrounded by a wide receiver core that has Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, rookie wideout Rome Odunze and D’Andre Swift.

With McCarthy, he gets the chance to throw the ball to Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison. Overall, the Cardinals will have an advantage when going against these four rookies, but will also have their hands full with atleast two of them.