Expectations for the Arizona Cardinals aren't all that high entering the 2024 season. Arizona's over/under at Caesars Sportsbook is just seven wins, a figure that is higher than that of only seven teams leaguewide. After the Cardinals went just 4-13 last year in their first season under new head coach Jonathan Gannon, that makes some degree of sense -- especially considering the relative paucity of talent the team has on defense.
The offense, however, actually has a bunch of talented players, especially after adding Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Quarterback Kyler Murray feels people are not quite aware of what this unit can accomplish.
"I put no limitations on this offense. And I know people are sleeping on us, but it is what it is," Murray told CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. "You see it. You see everything. You see it. Try to stay off the social media as much as possible but you see, obviously, who they talk about -- who they don't talk about. Like I said, winning cures all."
Murray has a point. Despite the fact that he missed half of the 2023 season, Arizona finished the year as only a slightly below-average offense. The Cardinals ranked 19th in yards and 24th in points, 14th in yards per drive, 19th in points per drive, 17th in yards per play, 18th in the share of drives that ended with a touchdown or field goal, 21st in FTN's DVOA and 21st in expected points added per play at Tru Media.
And this was all while having one of the league's worst passing attacks: The Cards finished 28th in net yards per attempt, 24th in touchdown passes, 25th in DVOA and 29th in EPA per dropback.
With Murray back in the fold for a full season, plus Harrison joining tight end Trey McBride and No. 2 wideout Michael Wilson, and rookie Trey Benson joining James Conner in the backfield, there is reason to believe the Arizona passing game can take a significant step forward to complement what was already quite a good rushing attack. And if that happens, then Murray will likely have been right about people sleeping on this unit.