Cards have tough road ahead but reason for optimism
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Cardinals fans are pinning a lot of hopes on rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Photo: Norm Hall/Getty Images
The Arizona Cardinals' odds of making the playoffs aren't great, but things are looking up with a healthy quarterback and a rookie wide receiver who could be a superstar in the making.
The big picture: In the stacked NFC West, the Cardinals are projected to finish last.
- Betting odds favor the San Francisco 49ers, last year's Super Bowl runners-up and division winner for the past two years, to take the NFC West crown again.
Catch up quick: Arizona is coming off its second consecutive 4-13 season, finishing in a three-way as second-worst team in the league last year and third-worst in 2022.
State of play: Quarterback Kyler Murray could play his first full season since 2020.
- He suffered a season-ending ACL tear late in 2022 and didn't return until the Cards' 10th game of 2023.
- In eight starts last year, Murray threw for 1,799 yards and 10 touchdowns on a 65.7% completion rate while the Cards went 3-5.
- This will be his sixth season with Arizona.
1 exciting rookie: Cards fans are pinning many of their hopes on wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., whom they took with the fourth pick in this year's NFL Draft.
- He was a star at Ohio State and won the 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award, which goes to college football's best receiver.
- Harrison gives Murray the go-to passing target he's been missing since DeAndre Hopkins left the team after the 2022 season.
Zoom in: Running back James Conner's 1,040 rushing yards were sixth best in the league last season.
The other side: The defense remains a question mark.
- The Cards' defense gave up the second-most points per game in the NFL in each of the past two seasons and is expected to be among the league's worst defenses again.
- But the addition of free agent defensive linemen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols and linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. should help shore up the Cards' run defense, which was the league's worst last season.
- And All-Pro safety Budda Baker, who missed five games last year, is always a difference-maker, presuming he stays healthy or doesn't get traded.
The bottom line: 2024 should at least be an improvement over the past two dismal seasons.
- Oddsmakers set the over/under for Cardinals wins this year at either 6.5 or 7.5, while Sports Illustrated predicted a 9-8 record.
What to watch: The Cards start their season Sunday with a road game against the Buffalo Bills.
- They play their first home game the following Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.