Jun 10, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during minicamp at the teams Arizona Cardinals Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona Cardinals' Best-Case Scenario Revealed

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals have some high hopes ahead of them in 2025.

After an active offseason, it's become clear that Arizona is content to bet on themselves. They made multiple marquee additions to the roster and continued building depth through the draft.

They've gone the distance to bring in talent defensively, and are strongly committed to the offense they fielded in 2024.

So just how high is Arizona's ceiling? That remains to be seen. But one outlet did go as far as to say the Cardinals may have a shot to come away with one of the toughest division titles in football.

Arizona Cardinals Could Win NFC West

Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab may not expect an inordinate amount of fireworks in the desert, but he does seem to think Arizona has the infrastructure to compete heavily in 2025.

"The Cardinals finished 2023 strong and that carried over to 2024. Arizona should feel like the pieces are in place for another jump. The defense has been completely remade from the ragtag group of two seasons ago. It could be in the top third of the NFL this season.

"One wild card for the offense is Marvin Harrison Jr. What if he plays like a star his second season? That's what everyone expected of him when he was drafted fourth overall. That would elevate Kyler Murray and the rest of the offense. And the offense wasn't that bad last season.

"While it's hard to see the Cardinals being that far above average, some metrics say they were better than their 8-9 record last season and they did have a very good offseason. It's reasonable to expect improvements on each side of the ball and if that happens, the Cardinals could contend for an NFC West title," Schwab wrote.

To expect the Cardinals to become some kind of Super Bowl-contending team in 2025 may be a bit lofty. But one thing has been obvious: the talent is there, Arizona just hasn't seen it all come together.

If the Cardinals can put together some amount of consistency, they may be one of the NFL's toughest outs. A vastly-improved defense may take some of the pressure off Murray and Harrison, allowing them to settle into the role that they can serve at their best.

There's never a guarantee of playoff contention in the NFL, but Arizona may be able to engineer a division title if everyone plays even mostly up to their potential.