These two new Cardinals have the most amount of pressure in 2024

The 2024 NFL season is going to be a fun one for the Arizona Cardinals. Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon have done a terrific job with creating a buy-in culture and bringing in help for the immediate and long term future. Arizona was set up for a successful offseason and on paper, it looks like that they will be a better football team. However, we all know that we will truly find out what kind of team the Cardinals will be when they hit the field this upcoming season. 

Each season, there are talks about various players across the league that have a great amount of pressure. The Cardinals are part of the conversation, especially heading into the 2024 season. Whether it is players who have been in Arizona for a season and beyond, or are brand new to the team, the Cardinals have two players that have joined the team this offseason that will have immediate pressure for success. 

Arizona made a great amount of moves in free agency and the draft. Looking at the new players, there is hope for the Cardinals heading into next season. However, what comes with hope comes with potential risk.

One of the biggest free agent signings that the Cardinals made was offensive tackle Jonah Williams. Coming from the Cincinnati Bengals. Williams has played both left and right tackle so he provides versatility. It will be interesting to see how Williams and Paris Johnson Jr. will play out of who plays which tackle side. However, Williams has pressure on him heading into this season because he has the veteran experience to protect the outside of the pocket for Kyler Murray. Even though Murray has shown signs that he passed his torn ACL injury, it will now always be a concern for the rest of his career. Williams will have the pressure to keep Murray standing upright and avoiding another potential injury disaster.

The second newest Cardinal is not wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., but it is rookie defensive end Darius Robinson who was also taken in the first round by the Cardinals. Being drafted late in the first round, Robinson is added to an edge rusher group that was underwhelming in 2023. The Cardinals finished with just 33 sacks last season, so Robinson will have to deliver results early on. Robinson has upside to his game with his size and ability to fire off the ball. One area he will need to improve on is his game is adding a specialty move to get by defenders quicker. 

Between these two, Williams has the most pressure because he only has a two-year deal with Arizona and the Cardinals drafted offensive tackle Christian Jones in the fifth round of the NFL draft this year. If Williams does not provide stability on the offensive line, don’t be surprised if the Cardinals make a change of getting Jones some playing time.