The Arizona Cardinals are about to play football again. After a productive offseason, General Manager Monti Ossenfort received rave reviews from the majority of the media for the acquisitions made in the draft, with many outlets tipping the Cardinals as a “surprise package” and some going as far as earmarking Jonathan Gannon as a potential Coach of the Year candidate.

Coupled with the fact that the team will be able to call upon their franchise QB Kyler Murray from the off this year, it’s easy to see why Cards fans are excited about the season. 

Monti Ossenfort has COOKED and the fans have responded in kind. By May 1st, the team had surpassed their season ticket sales total for all of the 2023 calendar year. 

But, what has Monti Ossenfort really cooked? 

When the 2023 season finished, with the Cardinals 4-13, Ossenfort had a number of key areas to address. The first was a defensive line, bereft of talent, which had had its arse kicked several times. Across two games against the Rams, the Cardinals gave up 407 rushing yards. They conceded 250 rushing yards to the Bears and 184 to the Falcons. No team gave away as many yards to the run (2434) as the Cardinals. 

Through free agency, Ossenfort attempted to raise the floor of the room by signing Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Khyiris Tonga. Jones had been part of a Bear defence that had given up the least amount of rushing yards (1468) in the league and Nichols was tied-7th amongst interior defensive linemen for assisted tackles against the run (15).

Tonga will hopefully offer stronger back-up to nose tackle Roy Lopez than Leki Fotu – Tonga sparkled in a late season games for the Vikings against Green Bay earning an 86.9 PFF grade in run defence. 

Though fans had hoped for Ossenfort to splash the cash on a premier defensive linemen like Christian Wilkins, it was the draft where the big ticket addition to the position would come when the Cardinals used their second 1st-round pick on Darius Robinson from Missouri. 

A leviathan of a young man with a near 85 inch wingspan, Robinson is the model player for what the staff are looking for from an Arizona Cardinal. A dedicated student of the game and an invaluable presence in Mizzou’s locker room, Robinson lives and breathes football. 

Former teammate and now LA Ram Cody Schrader called him “The best leader I’ve ever been around”. “From a work ethic standpoint, from a vocal standpoint — I think he was the heart and soul of our team. When he said something, everybody listened. We went as he went and that’s why you’ve seen him have the success he’s had.”

Jonathan Gannon is a man that loves to see violence from his players on both sides of the ball and he couldn’t have hoped for much more than Robinson, who will start the season on IR, who could be a destructive presence at the heart of the Cardinals defence with his baseball mitt hands and explosive power. DR is a badman. 

Staying with the defence, the Cardinals were also desperate for reinforcements at corner. An outsider looking at the stats might initially think the Cards were actually somewhat competent against the pass last season as 20 teams let up more yards through the air. Yet if you dig deeper or simply watched the team, you’d know they were dire when it mattered most. 

The Cardinals were the second worst team in the league for completion percentage allowed (68.6%), third worse for touchdown passes allowed (32), fourth worst for yards per attempt (7.6) and the worst for 1st down percentage (39.1%). If it hadn’t of been as easy to gash the run defence, those figures would’ve been even worse. 

Pass defence isn’t just down to the corners, which we’ll come back to later, but the arrivals of Sean Murphy-Bunting and Max Melton alongside the continued progression of Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas V and Kei’Trel Clark should at least offer some incremental improvement. 

Murphy-Bunting only received a 54.5 PFF grade in coverage in 2023, which makes him a slight surprise as the de facto CB1 but he made much more of an impact while on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (coverage grade of 74.5 in 2022) and was crucial to their Super Bowl run as he claimed 3 interceptions during the postseason. SMB likes to get stuck in, tackle and lead from the front –  all things that the Cardinals want from their younger defensive backs. 

Draftee Max Melton, the #43 overall pick from Rutgers, fits that mould and then some. Dane Brugler of The Athletic noted that Melton is an “insane closer downhill” and “battles through receivers hands”, using his physical talents honed as a high school track star to make plays while Assistant GM Dave Sears has highlighted the 22-year-old as an “excellent” special team player. 

A feisty, incredibly confident player, Melton will have to dislodge Thomas from the starting job having missed a bit of time during the offseason through injury though he’ll be expected to make that jump sooner rather than later. 

As with the defensive line, Ossenfort did not get tempted into throwing money at a big name player in free agency and while there is a lot of pressure on young players to perform, Cardinals fans have to feel better about a trio of SMB, Melton/Thomas and Williams than some of their predecessors. 

One area that Ossenfort didn’t truly tackle, at least as of the time of writing, is at pass rush. The Cards will roll with essentially the same group of pass rushers that finished the season with 1 sack in the last 6 games of the season, sans BJ Ojulari who is out for the season, with 5th round pick Xavier Thomas the only newcomer at the position. There is also scope for linebacker Mack Wilson to be used in some packages and Darius Robinson did lead Mizzou in sacks in 2023 (8.5). 

While Thomas has flashed in the preseason, no team should be relying on a 5th round pick and the eternal hope of a Zaven Collins transformation into a game-wrecker off the edge to change their fortunes. Even before Ojulari’s injury, the room looked bare of genuine impact players and it’s the stick that fans will beat Ossenfort with if the team struggles to live up to expectations. 

On the other side of the ball, Ossenfort had icing to put on the top of the cake rather than overhauling the entire menu. The Cardinals were one of the most dominant rushing attacks in the league last year, with only the Dolphins averaging more yards per carry (5.1 to 5). The team were also 4th league-wide for overall rushing yards (2365), had the second most plays of 40+ yards (5) and a league leading 23 plays of 20+ yards. 

This was all in spite of a revolving door of offensive linemen, with the Cardinals most used combination of D.J. Humphries, Elijah Wilkinson, Hjalte Froholdt, Will Hernandez and Paris Johnson Jr. playing 36.2% of offensive snaps as a unit together, 21st across the NFL. 

This season will see Johnson switch to left tackle, the position he played during his final year as a Buckeye, while D.J. Humphries bid farewell to the Cardinals with the team moving on from his bumper contract as the former team captain recovers from injury. His replacement is Jonah Willams, the former Bengal. 

Williams feels like a stopgap until a true partner can be found for Johnson, though he is a more competent player than his 31 sacks allowed in his career suggests. The majority of those have come in inter-divisional games against the likes of Myles Garrett, TJ Watt and Trey Hendrickson and Williams is historically a much better performer against good rather than great pass rushers. 

That is still an issue that will have to be dealt with though as the Cardinals Oline are set to face Aidan Hutchinson, Nick Bosa and Khalil Mack in the first half of the season. 

On the inside both Froholdt and Hernandez proved to be vital to Drew Petzing’s offensive plans and as long as Evan Brown, who has earned rave reviews for his strength both on the field and in the weight room, stays healthy then he should be a marked improvement on Elijah Wilkinson. 

Long-term, the team will hope that 3rd round pick Isaiah Adams can grow into their Left Guard of the future. Adams showed glimpses of his violence and all-out physicality in the run game during preseason and was described by Illinois coach Bret Bielema as a “jerk” on game days in an endearing manner, but did struggle on passing assignments. 

The pièce de résistance of Ossenfort’s offseason was staying put to draft wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at #4. A player that marries the high-character qualities that the Cardinals front office desires with potential superstar ability on the field, MHJ gives Kyler Murray the final piece to his young, hungry quartet of pass catchers. Harrison, Trey McBride, Michael Wilson and Greg Dorcth could set the league alight if everything clicks. 

Ossenfort also had one eye on the future when constructing this roster. While Trey Benson, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Tip Reiman might not see the lionshare of snaps this season, they could all grow into significant roles within the organisation. 

Benson, arguably the best of the 2024 running back class, will serve as #2 to James Conner and if all goes to plan could be the experienced War Dog’s successor. A back that rarely goes down on initial contact, when handed a running lane, Benson has the capabilities to be a home-run hitter for the Cardinals. 551 of his 905 rushing yards in 2023 for FSU came after contact. 

Ossenfort told Dave Pasch on the latter’s titular podcast that “one thing that stands out about Trey is that when he has a crease, he has the speed to break it and pop the long run, something you don’t see in running backs his size”. 

Reiman brings an elite blocking option to the tight end department and was criminally underutilised in the pass game at Illinois. Despite only going for 203 yards from 19 receptions in 2023, he impressed the Cardinal staff during the all-star event circuit and draft process with the ball in his hands.

DTD, affectionately known as Rabbit, is arguably the Cardinal rookie that has made the biggest impression since joining the team. Some standout displays in the preseason, where Rabbit showed off his ball-hawking abilities, has some fans wondering if he can be the long-term replacement for Budda Baker who is entering a contract year. 

Looking at the additions Ossenfort has made this offseason offers a clearer view on what he hopes this team can become than last year, where there was too much deadwood to clear out. 

The rookies in particular almost all fall into one or more of 5 clear categories. In Marvin Harrison Jr., Darius Robinson and Isaiah Adams the Cardinals have players who’ve demonstrated leadership, either through being team captains as Robinson and Adams were or through leading by example like MHJ – a young man that has “unmatched work ethic” according to those who spent time with him at Ohio State. 

They’ve also searched out top-flight athletes. Rabbit was the fastest safety at the NFL Combine (4.41 40 yard dash), Melton has the high school track pedigree and corner Elijah Jones will bring some much needed size to the Cardinals corner room when he is healthy in the future. 

Adams, Reiman, Melton and undrafted rookie Xavier Weaver have all displayed a “team first” attitude during their college career. Adams, a career guard, played at tackle last year due to an injury crisis despite knowing it could harm his draft stock. His teammate at Illinois, Tip Reiman has been credited as owning a “give-a-shit” factor that is off the charts by coaches and he never complained about his role. Melton and Weaver both played through injuries in 2023 – Melton with a broken hand and Weaver with a labrum tear. 

It also seems like the front office has valued life experience when making their picks this year. Taylor-Demerson is a father while Xavier Thomas has openly battled with depression and a weight journey as he looked to overcome his mental struggles. These situations can breed maturity, work ethic and determination.

Maybe most importantly for the Red Sea, these young men are tough motherfuckers. For too long, the Arizona Cardinals have been pushed around by their NFC West counterparts. The likes of Robinson, Adams, Reiman, E. Jones, Trey Benson, Rabbit and Melton should go some way to solving that. 

It’s easy to see why Cardinals fans are excited on the eve of the first game against Buffalo. An already sparky offence is another year wiser, has a prospect that ranks as one of the most promising in recent memory and most crucially has its leader 100% healthy again. The defence has been shored up in places and the plan is clear for the future. 

On the other hand, it’s difficult to pin down where the Cardinals expectations should realistically lie this season. Some media outlets are tipping them as a surprise to make the playoffs. Others are suggesting that clear progression should be the goal. 

They have a franchise QB in Kyler Murray who, no matter the noise, a number of teams would commit despicable things to have under center this year. However, K1 desperately needs some postseason success to fully legitimise him to the league.

His weapons are potentially electrifying but they are a young unit. The depth along the offensive line is improved but they are one injury away from a notable drop-off in quality.

The defence should be better, it’d be nigh on impossible to not be, but Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson are still the only genuine difference makers until proven otherwise. 

There is a lot of “hope” asterisked against this team. We will soon find out exactly what this team is made of. 

For all of the positive draft grades, speculation, offseason analysis and proclamations that MONTI HAS COOKED, the proof is in the pudding. 

As Jonathan Gannon told the media recently, Sundays are where you are measured. 

It’s time to fly, BirdGang. 

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