Based on their pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals were the fourth-worst team in the league in 2023. They were 4-13 on the season.
In NFL.com power rankings following Super Bowl LVIII and the Kansas City Chiefs’ second consecutive title, the Cardinals are ranked exactly there.
They rank 29th — fourth worst in the league.
The 4-13 record in Jonathan Gannon’s first year might not look all that pretty on paper, but the Cardinals were a better team than I imagined they’d be. They pulled off stirring upsets over the Cowboys, Steelers and Eagles, the last two coming on the road against teams that badly needed wins to boost their playoff pushes. Kyler Murray just seemed to be happy by season’s end, which is a good thing. The team was 3-5 with him starting, with a minus-36 point differential; they were 1-8 with a minus-89 point differential while waiting for him to return from a torn ACL. The Cardinals aren’t one or two players away from toppling the 49ers, but there’s suddenly something interesting here. They’re in great shape, cap-wise, to make some targeted additions, and then they’ll have six picks in the first three rounds with which to hoover in more talent. Keep adding to both lines of scrimmage, address the secondary in a big way and find another offensive threat, and Arizona might be able to get cooking.
They finished behind the Chargers, Titans, Falcons and Giants. By the season’s end, the vibes probably would have people feeling better about the Cardinals than those teams, but Arizona’s defense was also so bad that they couldn’t stop anyone.
Is it fair to put the Cardinals 29th? Well, it’s not unfair, at least.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
