Cardinals GM Massively Disrespected in Latest Ranking

The Arizona Cardinals have seen their fair share of incompetency from general managers over the years. This offseason has not been an example of that.

Still, it seems that Monti Ossenfort may not have won over the entirety of the NFL media, despite across-the-board praise for his approach to both free agency and the NFL Draft.

NBC Sports' Patrick Daugherty put together his 2025 NFL GM power rankings, and Ossenfort was ranked 20th, below even names like Jerry Jones and dysfunctional Bengals' GM Duke Tobin.

Cardinals GM Wildly Disrespected

Here's how Daugherty justified this ranking. It's a head-scratcher.

"The only thing worse than not having a franchise quarterback is maybe having a franchise quarterback. Monti Ossenfort was hired in January 2023. He has spent the intervening 28 months waiting on Kyler Murray. First, to get healthy. Second, to maybe finally take the next step. Murray started every game last season for the first time since 2020 and … conducted a shot-for-shot remake of his rookie-year stats from 2019.

"The next level probably isn’t coming, but Murray still has guaranteed money through the 2026 season. That deal was organized by Ossenfort’s predecessor. Now all he can do is continue to wait. He has done so with limited free agent forays — Josh Sweat notwithstanding — and draft pick stockpiling. The Cardinals have made 28 picks in three years on Ossenfort’s watch, trading down for extra capital six times in three springs, including five times between 2023-24.

"Ossenfort made fewer than nine selections for the first time this year, though he still made at least one pick in all seven rounds. That’s quaint, old-fashioned team-building. Even in the NFL, patience tends to be a virtue. Forcing solutions is how you end up trading for Deshaun Watson or drafting Kenny Pickett. But Ossenfort is nevertheless in a position where his lack of action could result in his 2026 firing if Murray remains mired in mediocrity. That’s not fair. It’s also how things have always worked around here."

What?

First off - this is not even a legitimate evaluation of Ossenfort. Daugherty criticizes a deal made by Steve Keim, and then claims Ossenfort could be fired if that deal doesn't work out.

Second - this is, if anything, an indictment on Murray, and no one else. Some are higher on Arizona's franchise QB than others, for a variety of valid (and invalid) reasons.

In no way is Murray's play a reflection of Ossenfort. And if Murray's play is truly too far below standard, Murray will be the one to depart, not Ossenfort. Ossenfort's QB options have provided him no clear-cut upgrade over Murray in his three seasons managing the Cardinals, and both he and head coach Jonathan Gannon know that.

Instead of evaluating Ossenfort's roster construction, Daugherty chases a wild goose down the same avenue of Kyler Murray scrutiny that has gripped this team since his arrival in 2019.

Ossenfort has done nothing but rebuild this culture and roster from the ground up. He surged into the 2025 offseason with major free agent signings to add to the weakest unit on the roster, then doubled down in the Draft and may have snagged a future defensive player of the year in Will Johnson.

Has Ossenfort been perfect? No, absolutely not. But to claim his job status hinges on whether or not a Keim-selected quarterback has a good year in 2025 is a laughable excuse for analysis. If Ossenfort is fired, which is very unlikely barring an unprecedented collapse, it wouldn't be after the 2026 season, and it wouldn't be as a result of the level of play from a QB he didn't draft nor extend himself.

If Murray doesn't perform in 2025, then yes, it's time for Ossenfort to truly explore other options. That much is a valid point. Claiming his job hinges on that and that alone is not.

Keep in mind, it also took years upon years of incompetence for owner Michael Bidwill to pull the plug on Keim and hire Ossenfort.

There's no delusion present on this website that Ossenfort should be atop this ranking alongside Howie Roseman or Brett Veach. But dropping him that far below some of the most generationally incompetent regimes based solely on Kyler Murray is completely laughable.