SEASON PREDICTION

The Cardinals drafted Jeremiah Love this offseason, and franchise legend Larry Fitzgerald was enshrined into the HOF this summer as well. That's about all the positives I can think of for the Cardinals in this offseason. This is one of the least talked about franchises in the NFL when it comes to utter poverty and terrible ownership. For a team with 107 seasons of history, they have 7 measly playoff wins to show for it. For reference the Texans have been around for 25 years and have the same amount of playoff success. My most notable memory of Arizona's offseason was their terrible schedule release video which encapsulated the abyss the franchise has been in for over a century. At the very least they seem ready to embrace a rebuild and tank for one of the QBs in this year's elite draft in hopes that one of them could possibly turn this team around.  

Although I bashed on the franchise in the paragraph above, I do believe that they have star power on their team, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With Brissett under center last year this team was effective at moving the ball, and I do expect the offense to be competent once again this year. They drafted Love in the top 10 which makes all signs point towards him following in the footsteps of his predecessors drafted in the same position (Jeanty, Gibbs, Robinson, Barkley, McCaffrey). They also have a top 3 TE in the league with Trey McBride (ended my fantasy season) who put up the second most receptions and TDs by any receiver in the NFL let alone TE. Then we get to the WR room where surprisingly Michael Wilson is expected to be the WR1. I say surprisingly because I had such high hopes for MHJ coming out of college and fully expected him to be a star by this point in his career. However, he hasn't done much to prove me right as he has succumbed to Wilson in target share when they are both on the field and has had his fair share of drop issues. I expect this to be the make-or-break year for MHJ as everyone is ready to write him off as a bust if he can't perform up to expectations in 2026. I still hold out hope that what I saw in college wasn't a fluke and that he can be part of the elite Ohio State receiving group that has blossomed in the NFL.   

On the defensive side of the ball, there is a lot less to talk about. Arizona lost 2 of their best players with the departures of Jalen Thompson, and Calais Campbell. They enter this year as the 30th ranked defense, which is understandable given the fact that they did next to nothing in free agency to try and boost their roster. Their secondary is the only semi-impressive part of the unit with Will Johosn anchoring the CB room. They also have their vet presence in the secondary with Budda Baker who enters this season as a consensus top 10 safety in the league. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are in the NFC West, meaning they have to face the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers 6 times combined. The misery doesn't stop there either with the Cardinals projected to have the 3rd hardest schedule in the NFL even though they finished last in the division the previous year. I don't believe the Cardinals will have had a good year regardless of if they have the easiest or hardest SOS but having to deal with this burden while the roster is already lacking in talent just adds an extra layer of difficulty for what is already shaping up to be a tumultuous season.  

Thus, with the Cardinals difficult strength of schedule and uninspiring defensive unit I have this team finishing the year 2-15. I do expect the offense to move the ball and be in the middle of the pack when it comes to PPG, but their defense is woeful, so they will give up much more than their offense can put up. I firmly believe that the organization understands they are not going to contend this year and will be focusing on getting Love as many reps as possible to maximize their draft investment. A successful season in my opinion for the Cardinals would be seeing Love have a breakout rookie year, MHJ emerging as the true alpha WR they drafted him to be and finally ending the season with the 1st overall pick to draft their hopeful franchise QB.