Cardinals' Roster Disrespected in Surprise Ranking

The Arizona Cardinals have completed a total overhaul of a struggling roster in the past few seasons. GM Monti Ossenfort tore down the previous regime's flawed group of players and has steadily rebuilt through the draft and key free agent acquisitions.

This offseason, he's dumped plenty of investment into the defense, shoring up Arizona's most struggling unit. But despite the surge of talent the Cardinals have enjoyed, one national outlet isn't quite ready to give the Cardinals too much praise.

Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman ranked each NFL roster, based partially on the individual strengths and weaknesses of the 2024 season. The Cardinals came in 19th, somehow ranked below the Cincinnati Bengals and the 5-12 Chicago Bears.

Chadwick and Wasserman cited Arizona's strengths and weaknesses from 2024. Here's what they had to say:

Biggest strength in 2024: Rushing offense

"The Cardinals' most successful offensive stretches last season came when they pounded teams into submission on the ground. They tied for ninth in the NFL in PFF rushing grade while ranking 14th in PFF run-blocking grade. Running back James Conner led the way with an outstanding 90.6 PFF rushing grade that ranked sixth among qualified running backs," they wrote.

Biggest weakness in 2024: Pass rush

"While Arizona’s coverage unit improved from a putrid 2023, the team's pass rush couldn’t do the same. The Cardinals tied for the second-worst PFF pass-rush grade in the NFL last season. They also ranked among the bottom eight teams in pressure rate and pass-rush win rate. That showing at least partially motivated the team to acquire a slew of defensive linemen this offseason, including former Eagle Josh Sweat."

One thing is certain about the Cardinals' 2024 season. Both the strengths and the issues were glaringly obvious. Perhaps the 19th overall roster ranking makes sense when examining an 8-9 team that missed the playoffs and had a complete inability to get to the QB or pass the ball deep downfield.

But considering the wealth of talent brought in to address that one glaring weakness, it does seem foolish to put Arizona so far down the list, especially ahead of a Bears team that, despite "winning the offseason" just about every year, has nearly zero proven elite talents.

Regardless, the Cardinals do admittedly have a lot to prove, especially on the offensive side, but from a pure talent standpoint, they should be a well-above-average team, at least on paper. The rest is up to execution, which cannot be fully predicted.