Arizona Cardinals Weapons Trending Up in Rankings

How good do you consider the Arizona Cardinals skill position players to be? You should feel pretty confident about the Cardinals' running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.

Each group has a clear No. 1 option. James Conner leads the backfield, Marvin Harrison Jr. is the top wideout, and Trey McBride anchors the tight end room.

But depth is the biggest concern, and it's what separates Arizona from other teams.

Conner's top backup is Trey Benson. Benson has upside, but he barely played as a rookie. Michael Wilson complements Harrison but is clearly a tier below. Beyond him, the drop-off is steep. Tight end also lacks a proven backup, though Elijah Higgins and Tip Reiman bring intrigue.

Recently, ESPN's Bill Barnwell gave his own ranking of all 32 teams and their skill position groups. He was kind enough to include previous rankings so we can see the progression for each team since 2023.

Arizona Cardinals Skill Groups Trending Up

For the second straight year, the Cardinals are trending up, checking in at 15th. It's a six-spot jump from the 21st spot last year and cuts in half 2023's 30th rank. It's understandable to see how Barnwell came to those conclusions.

We started on a bit of a sour note, as Barnwell discussed Harrison falling well short of his colossal expectations: "... Marvin Harrison Jr., who was supposed to be the clear top wideout in a fantastic class before finishing fifth in receiving yards among his own draftees. I'm willing to recognize some concerns that he wasn't put in advantageous situations, but the book on him was that he was supposed to be someone entirely capable of lining up as a true 'X' receiver and dominating from the outside."

It's a fair take, considering the investment in Harrison. But Barnwell brought up Larry Fitzgerald had a similar debut to the league and said himself, "that's certainly in Harrison's range of outcomes, but even the best prospects don't always translate into immediate superstars."

He mentioned that if Harrison takes that next step, he will create a dynamic "Big Three" with McBride and Conner:

"Trey McBride does everything you'd want a tight end to do beyond catch touchdowns, a trick that should turn around sooner rather than later... Running back James Conner was both healthy and productive last season, topping 1,500 yards from scrimmage for the first time as a pro."

It's a trio that any quarterback would love to work with But again, there's a clear drop-off, and Barnwell pointed that out:

"Michael Wilson runs a ton of routes... his 1.2 yards per route run ranked 72nd out of 91 qualifying wideouts last season... And Trey Benson, who seemed like he might turn into Conner's long-term replacement, had just 291 rushing yards in a limited role as a rookie."

If one of those three goes down, the offense could face real trouble. Still, Barnwell ended on a positive note, looking at the big picture:

"There's growth potential for a young group of playmakers here."

Well said, Bill.