Greatest strength: hasty attack
With their use of several tight end sets, a powerful attacking line and a stable of dynamic ball carriers, the hasty attack of the cardinals remains the basis of their attack. James Conner was again excellent last season and earned a 90.6 hasty figure in sixth place in the NFL. Kyler Murray added his own spark and ranked second under qualified Quarterbacks in Yards per Carry (7.3). Arizona also retained the majority of a blocking unit that ended 14th last year in Runblocking figure.
Biggest weakness: Linebackers
Arizona concentrated for a large part of his low season on upgrading the line of defense, but the secondary remains a work in progress and the Linebacker unit stands out as the biggest question mark of the defense. That group is in 28th place in PFF quality last season and misses a proven anchor. Veterans Mack Wilson Sr., akeem Davis-Squeak And Mykal Walker offers experience, but nobody consistently performed at a start-caliber level. Fourth Round Rookie Cody Simon could also see early repetitions, because the cardinals want to strengthen the position.
Quarterback Spotlight: Kyler Murray
- 2024 pff -grade: 82.1
- Main stat: 21 big-time throws from clean bags, the most tied in the NFL during the regular season.
There were numerous positives from the 2024 season of Kyler Murray. He started every game for the first time since 2020 and achieved the top 12 quarterbacks in both passing and hasty quality. In general, Murray remains an above -average starter, but consistency is still his biggest obstacle. He placed a housing of at least 73.0 in six games last season, five of which won. In the 11 games where he was short, the cardinals lost eight. If Murray can deliver a stable production through the air, Arizona has a legitimate shot to return to the late season.
Offensive Spotlight: HB James Conner
James Conner may take his age-30 season, but he has not shown any signs of delay. Since the beginning of 2023, his 92.2 hasty degree and 128 missed tackles forced both second in the NFL, behind only Derrick Henry. Under running with at least 100 carries during that period, 3.6 yards after contact per attempt is in fourth place. Conner also recorded the second most receptions and received recruiting his career last season. Simply put, he remains the engine of the violation of Arizona.
Defensive Spotlight: CB Garrett Williams
Garrett Williams emerged as one of the most important final cornerbacks of the NFL in 2024. His 82.0 pff degree was in third place of all qualified corners, with only fellow slot striking Cooper Dejean and defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II. Williams led all cardinals defenders in Pass -Break -Ups (6) and stood more than 50 receiving yards in a competition only once the entire season.
Rookie Spotlight: CB Will Johnson
Will Johnson was a top 20 talent in the 2024 design that slid to the second round because of medical care. Yet he brings elite references to Arizona, after he has achieved a 91.3 coverage ratio in Michigan for three seasons. With Starling Thomas V-de Snap Leader of the Cardinals at Cornerback last season-before the year with a seasonal injury, Johnson could be called to play an important role early in his Rookie campaign.
Fantasy Spotlight: The Trey McBride
Trey McBride took over as the primary tight end of the cardinals halfway through the 2023 season and has since been an elite fantasy option. He on average at least 15 PPR points per match in both seasons as a starter. In 2024, McBride led all the tight ends in receptions per game (6.9) and receptions per route (0.21), while they rank second in both yards per game (71.6) and goals per game (8.7). With Arizona who retains his attacking coaching staff and core staff, McBride has been set up for continuous success. If there is something, a positive regression in the Touchdown column can make it even more valuable this season.
Best bet: Arizona Cardinals to make the play -offs
The cardinals brought remarkable improvements to their attack in 2024 and resulted in top 10 mark in pff-alarm number (81.0) and EPA each (0.056). It was the defense that fell as well, so that Arizona would make significant investments in that side of the ball this season. Main discolored free-agent sign Josh Sweat, who flourished under Jonathan Gannon in Philadelphia, and first round Pick Walter Nolen, the front of Arizona is ready for 2025.
The cardinals have passed a debilitating start until 2024, with five final playoff opportunities in the first six weeks before they live their foot back to their week 11 -Bye. However, the team fell flat in the piece and placed a 2-5 record from week 12. Towards the end of the season, Arizona had played one of the five most difficult diagrams in the NFL.
In 2025, the team planned the 10th easiest power of the schedule that is on its way, to cope with only four Playoff teams from 2024, although that does not include that teams are expected to bounce back, such as the 49 people.
Oddmakers have the total line of Arizona at 8.5, in line with the projection of Pff of 8.7. With a 44% expected opportunity to make the play -offs, the cardinals are in seventh place of NFC teams in the likelihood of the late season.
Bottom Line
Arizona could be about to find a play-off rack if Kyler Murray finds more consistency from week to week and deliver the defensive additions of the team as hoped.
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