By now, you have probably seen several headlines claiming it makes sense for the Arizona Cardinals to tank and snag the top pick in 2024.
If you’re the Arizona Cardinals, tanking makes absolutely zero sense. For one, there is too much talent on this team, both well-known talent like Budda Baker, Marquise Brown, and Jalen Thompson, and under-the-radar talents like Marco Wilson, Greg Dortch, and Myjai Sanders.
In essence, tanking involves tearing down your roster to the bare bones and rebuilding it from scratch. Think 2016-17 Cleveland Browns, if you’d like a good example.
So if the Cardinals were indeed tanking, they wouldn’t be holding onto the likes of Baker and Company. Instead, you would see a fire sale, swapping such players for draft picks and perhaps cast-offs to take a flier on.
And in case you haven’t noticed, general manager Monti Ossenfort is doing none of this. Nor should he.
Arizona Cardinals are too talented to be tanking
This article isn’t about to claim the Cardinals are talented enough to be a perennial playoff contender or that they even boast a Top 16 roster. But this is a team that is too talented to throw away the 2023 season so they can snag the first overall pick and choose…who, exactly?
While Ossenfort and new head coach Jonathan Gannon have no ties to quarterback Kyler Murray, they already made it clear that he’s their guy moving forward, and that they will build the offense around him. Breath of fresh air, right?
They also see the value in their young defensive core. So again, if you’re tanking, you’re not carrying a talent like Budda Baker; you’re trading him. Makes little sense to get rid of him and break up one of the most dynamic duos in the league at safety.
What about the linebacking unit, which boasts four solid talents. The unit already had Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins, and Ossenfort went out and improved it by adding Kyzir White and Krys Barnes.
While the Cardinals are probably no better than a six-win team on paper, tanking will only set them back. And they are much further ahead of the curve than teams like the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts, to name a couple.
Since they have young talent on both sides of the ball, plus a quarterback capable of being the guy for the next 10 seasons, tanking isn’t, and shouldn’t, be on the Arizona Cardinals radar. So for those who believe this team should tank, they clearly didn’t conduct their research efficiently.
Source: Five NFL Teams That Should Consider Tanking for the No. 1 Pick in 2023 by Connor Orr, SI.com