Ranking NFL Offenses: Arizona Cardinals No. 21

Last year, the Arizona Cardinals moved up the offensive rankings (11th in yards), so they decided to focus on their defense in this year’s draft, except for G Hayden Conner in the sixth round. James Connor comes off two excellent years, but he starts this season at age 30.

Arizona Cardinals Starting Lineup

QB Kyler Murray

RB1 James Connor

RB2 Trey Benson

WR1 Marvon Harrison

WR2 Michael Wilson

WR3 Greg Dortch

TE Trey McBride

WR4 Zay Jones

No. 21 Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Outlook:

Kyler Murray continues to be a dink and dunk quarterback, showcased by his completions of 40 yards or more over the past three seasons (0, 1, and 3). Arizona added a frontline wide receiver (Marvin Harrison) in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he failed to reach WR1 status.

Murray scored more than 20.00 fantasy points in five of his first 12 starts while showing an uptick in production in four of his final five matchups (22.55, 24.40, 21.25, and 30.30 fantasy points). He ran the ball well (7.3 yards per carry) with some value in scoring (five touchdowns). The Cardinals lack the wide receiver depth to compete with the top-scoring teams in the NFL. Murray’s floor remains a top 10 quarterback while lacking impact value in many weeks.

Arizona squeezed out productive seasons from James Conner at ages 28 and 29, highlighted by a career high in touches (283) last year. He finished 11th in running back scoring (254.80) in PPR formats, with his best run coming from Week 14 to Week 16 (22.20, 30.80, and 26.60). Connor scored 44 touchdowns over his last 57 games. Despite his recent success, the fantasy market only views him as a backend RB2 in fantasy draft season.

Last year, Trey Benson had the feel of an upside handcuff based on the injury history of Connor and his aging profile. Unfortunately, the hope of their young running back making a run at more chances never materialized while missing the final three weeks with an ankle issue.

Marvin Harrison struggled to find chemistry with Kyler Murray, which was highlighted by his low catch rate (53.4). He still made big plays (14.3) while scoring eight times. Harrison teased in Week 2 (4/130/2) with one other game (6/111/1) with over 100 yards receiving. Twenty-nine wide receivers outscored him last season, after getting drafted as a WR1 in PPR format. He failed to score over 10.00 fantasy points in eight of his 17 starts.

Harrison is the key to Kyler Murray's rise up the quarterback rankings. Based on the Cardinals’ passing attack structure, he should be their second receiving option behind Trey McBride. Progression should be expected for Arizona's young, stud wideout while having a more favorable price point this draft season.

After a respectable rookie season (38/565/3), Michael Wilson only made a baby step forward in 2024. He caught 47 of his 71 targets for 548 yards and four touchdowns, with only four playable games (8/64, 5/78, 5/31/1, and 2/57/1) WR3-type outcomes. The Cardinals have questionable depth at wide receiver – Greg Dortch and Zay Jones.

Arizona featured Trey McBride over their final seven games, leading to six winning outcomes (12/133, 12/96, 7/70, 9/87, 12/123/1, and 7/65/1). Over those games, he averaged an impressive 13 targets. His success last year ranked him as a top 10 wide receiver, while finishing second to Brock Bowers in fantasy points (249.80) in PPR formats at tight end.

Arizona had a high-ranking player at QB, RB, and TE last season, and Harrison has the ceiling of an impact player. This combination should add up to a competitive offensive season, but the Cardinals don’t have much room for error if they lose any key players.

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