As we approach the start of the 2023 season, here are five bold predictions for the Arizona Cardinals.
After a really poor season last year, the Cardinals made several changes, as it appears they are looking to rebuild. First, the Cardinals will have a new head coach Jonathan Gannon.
The Kliff Kingsbury experiment turned out to be a failure for Arizona, as they took a chance on a college coach just a few years back. Many times, the Cardinals didn’t look prepared under Kingsbury. With the addition of Gannon, the team is hoping that the new coach will help get more out of this team.
Gannon comes from the Philadelphia Eagles as their defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. The Eagles certainly had a lot of success with him as the coordinator, but this unit isn’t nearly as talented as that one was.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals will be hoping that Kyler Murray is healthy sooner rather than later. Murray went down last season with a torn ACL, and with that being a significant injury, it’s hard to know when Murray will come back and what type of player he will be.
With expectations being fairly low and the Cardinals looking like a team who is rebuilding, here are five bold predictions for the 2023 season.
5. The defense continues to struggle despite new coach
If last season was any indication, the Cardinals can fully expect to struggle on the defensive side of the ball once again this season. Last season, the Cardinals gave up the second-most points per game in the league, with only the Chicago Bears allowing more.
Gannon proved to be a good defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he will have his hands full trying to turn this defense around. Just because of the addition of Gannon and getting rid of Kingsbury, the Cardinals should be better on that side of the ball.
However, with no real notable moves, it’s hard to imagine the Cardinals making a massive jump. Gannon might look to focus on running the ball this season with a strong offensive line to keep the defense off the field, but that will likely only be able to last for so long in a game.
Due to a lack of talent on that side of the ball, expect the team to struggle once again.
Prediction: Cards allow 5th most points per game in the league.
4. Arizona lacks playmakers at wide receiver
One of the biggest storylines for the Cardinals this offseason was the situation surrounding DeAndre Hopkins. Last season, Hopkins was serving a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, but he did come back and was productive in the second half of the season. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the return of Hopkins wasn’t enough to help the team much.
Before the suspension, Hopkins was widely considered to be one of the best wide receivers in the league. However, with the suspension seemingly caused some drama between him and the organization, and the Cardinals decided to move on.
However, replacing a talented player like Hopkins isn’t something that is going to happen overnight for the organization, as he was their leading receiver last season, despite only playing in nine games.
This season, the Cardinals will be relying on Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore to be the top two receivers. Neither is the kind of player Hopkins is, and the Cardinals will certainly feel that in the passing game.
Prediction: No receiver for Arizona gets 1,000 yards.
3. The Cards have the worst record in the NFL
Coming into the season, the Cardinals on paper and in Las Vegas sports books are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league. With a win total of just 4.5 across many books, the Cardinals could be in for a long season.
For the Cardinals, a lot of their success will come down to quarterback play. As of now, Murray’s timeline to return is in question, and the Cardinals could be struggling at the position.
In addition to a lot of question marks on the roster, the Cardinals are also in a tough division in the NFC West. Both the Seattle Seahawks and San Fransico 49ers were playoff teams, and the Rams will be a team hoping to get healthy and bounce back. Getting wins in the division will be tough for the Cardinals, and they could easily go 1-5 or 0-6 in those games.
Due to the lack of talent on paper, a new head coach, and a tough division, seeing the Cardinals having the worst record in the NFL is certainly possible.
Prediction: Cardinals have the worst record in the league.
2. The offensive line emerges as a strength
Even though there isn’t a lot to look forward to for the Cardinals this season, it does appear like they are trying to build a strong team in the trenches. In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cardinals decided to bolster the offensive line in the first round.
With the 6th overall pick, the Cardinals took Paris Johnson from Ohio State. Johnson certainly looks like he is capable of being a great player at the next level. However, he played left tackle in college and will likely be moving positions for the Cardinals to start. Currently, the Cardinals already have D.J. Humphries at left tackle, and he has proven to be a good player at the position.
So, with Johnson coming into the league, he will likely get moved to either right tackle or to left guard for the Cardinals. With Murray likely not to be running as much due to the ACL injury, especially early on, protecting him will be very important.
The offensive line has some talent and is arguably the best unit on the team.
Prediction: Cardinals have one of the top offensive lines in the league.
1. End of the Murray era?
As mentioned earlier, the Cardinals are expected to have a tough season in 2023. With a new coach, Gannon will likely be safe no matter what the record for the Cardinals is this season, as this franchise has to know expectations are low.
Where things get very interesting is if the Cardinals have the worst record in the league and get awarded the No.1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Generally speaking, quarterbacks are taken with the first overall pick, and the Cardinals will find themselves with a tough decision to make once again.
Don’t forget, it wasn’t too long ago that the Cardinals drafted Murray in the first round just one year after taking Josh Rosen. If the season goes poorly for the Cardinals and they like the quarterbacks in the draft, could they end up moving on from Murray?
On the surface, things don’t seem to be great looking from the outside with the Murray situation. If he struggles upon returning, the Cardinals with new people running the show could very well make a big move and take a new quarterback.
Prediction: Cards take a QB in the first round.
