The Cardinals’ rebuild is officially over, as GM Monti Ossenfort worked wonders to transform one of the worst teams in the NFL to a playoff contender in just one season.
Arizona is 6-4 and in first place in the NFC West after shellacking the Jets on Sunday, and its odds of making the playoffs have pushed above 50% for the first time this season.
Kyler Murray has been playing like a top-5 quarterback all year, and now the whole team is beginning to jell.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. has found his footing after a slow start, James Conner has proven to be the perfect fit for a bruising offensive attack, the offensive line is playing great and Trey McBride may be the best tight end in the NFL.
Trey McBride a top-2 TE in the league, in my eyes, and he might not be 2 pic.twitter.com/Zn739syfwR
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) November 10, 2024
On the defensive side of the ball, young cornerbacks Garrett Williams, Max Melton and Starling Thomas have reached a shocking level of lockdown play the past two weeks, which raises this team’s ceiling tremendously if it continues.
The best part about all of this?
It’s come a year ahead of schedule, which will give Ossenfort all the flexibility in the world to meticulously build up the roster the next few seasons.
There was urgency to win for the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, because Murray was not going to be on his cheap rookie contract forever. Then-GM Steve Keim went all-in, trading for DeAndre Hopkins, Rodney Hudson and Zach Ertz while signing vets like J.J. Watt and A.J. Green.
They were all huge names and had flashes of star play, but injuries and age took their toll, and the roster eventually became so barren that Ossenfort had no choice but to tear it all the way down.
The patience exuded the past two offseasons has resulted in Arizona stockpiling some of the best young talent in the NFL.
All of these players are 24 years old or younger, and all of them are making a relative pittance because they are on rookie contracts:
- WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. (22)
- CB Max Melton (22)
- Edge B.J. Ojuliari (22)
- LT Paris Johnson (23)
- DE Darius Robinson (23)
- CB Garrett Williams (23)
- TE Tip Reiman (23)
- TE Trey McBride (24)
- DT Dante Stills (24)
- CB Starling Thomas (24)
- WR Mike Wilson (24)
Even the established stars are young. Murray has been around forever and he’s only 27. Budda Baker is 28. Jalen Thompson is 26, and so is Jonah Williams.
The Cardinals have $113 million in cap space next season, making it extremely easy to keep every key piece.
Re-sign Budda Baker and James Conner? No problem. Bring back Kyzir White and Will Hernandez? Done.
Give Trey McBride a mammoth extension? Sign on the dotted line, Ice Trey.
The Cardinals are going to need to address the defensive line this offseason, but all of a sudden, are there really any other areas that need a big fix?
A slot receiver upgrade would be nice but the offense has otherwise been awesome. The secondary has been the most pleasant of surprises.
If Micah Parsons or Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby suddenly comes available this offseason, the Cardinals can pounce, because they have the cap space and the draft capital to do it.
But this team is so far along that Ossenfort can continue to simply fill in the margins, draft and develop.
Watch Baron Browning’s spin move to flush Aaron Rodgers out of the pocket. That’s the exact type of impact you want from him on money downs pic.twitter.com/6a8IgTp8PJ
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) November 11, 2024
The free agent trio of Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Sean Murphy-Bunting was a bust, but the two draft classes have looked extraordinarily impressive.
The Cardinals went on a Cinderella run to the Super Bowl with Kurt Warner in 2009, and they had a fantastic three-year push under Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer from 2013 to 2015.
But those guys were all older, and Keim took it in the same direction by adding all those vets in 2020 and 2021.
This time, the Cardinals are young. They are talented. Their contracts are incredible values.
The Cardinals have never been a perennial playoff team since coming to Arizona in 1988, but a star quarterback, savvy coach and acute GM have them on the precipice of sustained success.
Buckle up. The good times are here.
