First time doing a bigger post, obviously I’m a couch analyst and a lot of these opinions are exactly that, opinions. I didn’t really know what grading system to use, so I just stuck with the letter grade system. Let me know what you guys think

Off Season

General Manager: I’ll be honest, I had never heard of Monti Ossenfort prior to his hiring. After a quick google, it was obvious though that he had been on some good teams during some periods of winning football. After our previous General Manager, the bar was obviously set pretty low, as we all watched Kiem basically run the team into the ground over his tenor. I remember seeing a lot of articles questioning the hiring, stating how there were better people available. However Ossenfort and Gannon have both come in and made immediate impacts in both the roster and the culture of the team. I know we all saw the Flight Plan where he absolutely controlled the room during the draft and pulled off something we as cardinals fans hadn’t scene in years, an excellent draft strategy. Ill go down into the draft later, however for a first time GM to walk away with the class that he has on his first draft, I am thoroughly impressed. Obviously there have been some growing pains, the Gannon draft fiasco was a fun way to start the draft night. Getting nothing for Hopkins was a little sting, and I know a lot of people questioned the Jones and Simmons trade, but I like that he got something for a player instead of letting him walk for nothing at the end of the year. And it seems like letting Jones go wasn’t a bad call either, as his time in Houston hasn’t been great. The 5th Round Pick for Dobbs was critisised by all, including myself, however Dobbs has played reasonably well, up until these final pair of games, and if it took a 5th rounder for us to beat Dallas and look competitive in the first half of the season and make watching Cardinals Football fun and bearable for the first 8 games, ill take that. Overall, I’m all aboard the “Bossenfort” train and am excited to see him continue to learn and improve as our GM for years to come. GRADE (B+)

Coaching: Similar to Ossenfort, the Cardinals received a lot of question marks surrounding the hire of Gannon, and then his subsequent coach hiring’s. Social media rostered him and the organisation for the countless “Zoom, zoom Shots” & “Who rode the bus” memes surrounding him and team. Yeah well, F%$k those people and the haters, Gannon has immediately instigated a complete culture shift in the organisation and the players have 100% bought into it. Our roster may be thin on elite talent right now, but we aren’t short on discipline and effort, all which have been provided by Gannon and his staff. Long are the days of KK and his regime, we are a young team flying around and playing with heart. I think a lot of people get misconstrued when we don’t win, we are year one in a rebuild, we aren’t meant or probably going to win a lot. But how we lose, I think that is very important. We currently have the youngest DC in the NFL, and with the help of our Defensive minded head coach, we are playing a great brand of “bend don’t break” football that currently is 14th in turnover margins. Petzing’s scheme also obviously works, prior to Connor getting hurt, we were the 2nd rushing offense in the NFL and have only dropped down to 4th since his absence. I do believe that if we had a healthy K1, there are a few games that the phrase “We would’ve won if Kyler was playing” do apply to, however Petzing’s offense has made Dobbs into a top 12 QB on a good day, there have been issues with overthrows and inaccuracy, however that’s not on the scheme, and is something that I believe will be rectified when our Franchise QB is back. Retaining Jeff Rodgers as our special teams coach, when almost all of the old regime staff were moved on shows how respected he is around the league, and honestly it shows. Successful Trick plays on 4th, fumbles and recoveries on punt and successful onside kicks. Our special teams has been playing its ass off, once the Prater and Gillikin can clean up the Field Goals, our special teams will be playing at an elite level. I know people want us to win, who doesn’t love wining, however we need quality draft picks for Ossenfort to work his magic. So playing competitive and exciting football in the first year of the rebuild, I believe, is one of the best outcomes we could’ve asked for this year. Overall, between the culture shift, scheme installs and what we are getting out of our roster, its hard not to give the group a good mark. Grade (B+)

FREE AGENTS: I think the best way to go about this is just too give a grade and a brief overview of the key players let go and the key players brought in/resigned

Outs:
Byron Murphy: Byron murphy played at a high level for us when he played, he was the teams #1 CB for most of his tenure at AZ however between his entering his final year of his rookie contract and high price tag, letting him go was the right call, although our CB group could definitely use the help, he has been majorly underperforming in Minnesota. Grade (A)

Zach Allen: Another inconsistent performer whose final year with the team was elevated tremendously by playing next to a Hall of Famer like JJ Watt. Again, another position we are currently weak at, but Allen’s asking price wouldn’t have been worth the resign. He is currently playing quite well for the Broncos, but by the time the team will be competitive, it is unlikely he’d still be on the contract we would’ve signed him to this off season. Grade (B)

DeAndre Hopkins: One of the few marks on the Ossenfort’s tenure with Cards so far, not because he let Hopkins go, again I agree with the idea. However not taking the deals we got offered early and instead just releasing him, is something the we look on with rose tinted glasses and say “We should’ve taken this deal” Grade (C-)

Isiah Simmons: Remember jumping up and down in my loungeroom when we drafted him, a sour way to end his time with Arizona. Never developed into the player we needed him to be, smart for the new regime to get something out of him before his contract ran out. Grade (B-)

Josh Jones: Always thought he would take over from Hump, however it clearly didn’t work out that way. With Hump playing below average and missing time in games, it would probably be nice to still have him on the team. Grade ©

Ins/Resigns:
Will Hernandez: Was my top priority resign this off season, so I naturally Love it. Top 10-15 guard when he’s playing at his consistent best. Still young enough to stay with the team for many years to come, has been a great player on a line that has been performing well in the first half of the season, and we got him on a very reasonable contract. Grade (A+)

Kyzir White: Kyzir followed Gannon from Philly and has immediately become a leader and tone setter on this defense. Dude is a stud, shines in both the run and pass game, and knows the scheme inside and out. Another young player who I see sticking with the team for years to come. Grade (A)

Kris Barnes and Josh Woods: Honestly both guys have been playing well, I think Barnes should get the start over Woods personally, however the past few weeks, Barnes has been injured and Woods has been putting up an impressive tape. Two cheap players who I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both resigned in the offseason to longer deals. Grade (B)

Hjalte Froholdt: A lot of people didn’t expect a lot from him when we signed him, and most expected Gains II to start at center. However, We all saw how impressively he played in the preseason and has been a consistent piece on the Oline. Hasn’t been as dominant as the preseason and could possibly be a position of upgrade in the offseason, however for now, he’s a serviceable center for us. Grade (B)

Dennis Daley: 2 Year contract for the Human Turnstile was silly, every time he’s in the game, I notice him mess up. Will most likely not be on the team next year. Grade (D-)

Matt Prater: The Goat. Grade (A)

Kevin Strong: Great Dline Depth, playing well in the scheme, could see him being resigned and staying with the team Grade (B)

Elijah Wilkinson: I thought this was a great sign originally. Had a good, solid year with ATL the year before he came to us. However, he has easily been the worst player on the line and has now been replaced by Trystan Colon, who on the other hand has been quite good when he’s needed to be. Grade (D+)

Zach Pascal: Great locker room presence, big body receiver, hasn’t really done enough to warrant a good or bad grade. Grade ©

Antonio Hamilton: Probably the best corner on the team right now, was buried in the depth chart to give the younger guys a chance, but now he’s on the field, is flying around making plays. Grade (B+)

Josh Dobbs: Trading a 5th for Dobbs to watch the cardinals be competitive for the first half of the season seems worth it. Especially after we moved on from him to get some compensation back. Grade (B)

Overall I think the cardinals made enough moves that a rebuilding team should, while managing to find some players that could be considered for larger roles in years to come when the window opens.

DRAFT:

Paris Johnson Jr - Pick 6: The Cardinals not only traded back for a haul but also got the player the were eyeing at 3, what is this, a competent GM? Johnson is still a rookie tackle and is having good plays and bad plays, but can definitely see him becoming an elite player in his future, I mean hes only 22. I hope this offseason we transition him back to LT, and look at pairing him with a true RT from the draft, like a JC Latham or Taliese Fuaga. Grade (B+)

BJ Ojulari - Pick 41: Monti keeps wheeling and dealing, with another trade back with the titans to then draft Ojulari. Ojulari hasn’t seen the field a ton, but is starting to ramp up his playtime and his impact. With the cardinals rotating players at edge, I think once he has fully found his NFL sea legs, he will be a great pass rusher for us. Grade (B)

Garrett Williams - Pick 72: I loved Williams tape coming into the draft, and loved the idea of not rushing him back after tearing his ACL in 2022. That’s exactly what we did, as we really didn’t need him to play right away as we enter our rebuild, he is now healthy, been activated, and is looking like an immediate impact player for us in a position we sorely needed help with. Grade (A)

Michael Wilson - Pick 94: Did someone say steal of the draft? Michael Wilson is looking like an absolute steal at 94, a true pros pro, who came in and started righted away, and for good reason. I am really excited about him and K1 building that connection, as the only the issue I have with him at the moment is that we aren’t giving him the ball enough. Grade (A)

Jon Gaines - Pick 122: Gaines had an elite combine, being the highest scored OG for athleticism of the draft. Super versatile and listening to him speak at his intro press conference, seemed like an intelligent kid. Such shame about the injury, as with Wilkinson and Dailey performing below average, probably would’ve been our starting LG at some point this season. Hopefully he can come back and retain his speed and movement abilities and returns to fight for a starting job. Grade (N/A)

Clayton Tune - Pick 139: I thought DTR would be the pick here if we were going to take a QB, however Tune was selected. An elite passer in college and had very similar Brock Purdy vibes with more ability to use his legs. Will be interesting to see if he starts this week against Cleveland, talk about a trail by fire. Looked alright in preseason, could develop into our long term back up. Grade (C+)

Owen Pappoe - Pick 168: Doesn’t matter who the GM is, we must always draft a freak athlete at LB at some point in the draft. Was always going to be a developmental project for the coaching staff, but with his athleticism, would always make an impact on special teams from get go. Hopefully he can develop into a nice piece for our defense. Grade (C+)

Kei’trel Clark - Pick 180: Clark played well above his 6th round draft position for us, and was an exciting you player to watch the first half of the season. Seems to have been benched for regression, but with our season the way it is right now. I don’t see why he shouldn’t continue to learn and play over someone like Marco Wilson. Hopefully he gets back on field and continues to grow and learn, and could be another late round steal. Grade (B+)

Dante Stills - Pick 213: My favorite pick of the draft, i was shocked when stills was on the board at 213, and was so happy when we drafted him. For context, he was All Big 12 first team, joining players like Tyree Wilson, Will Mcdonald IV, Saiki Ika and Felix Anudike-Uzomah, so elite company. He has flourished in our system and has been a right spot on our Dline, taking all the opportunities presented to him. I think we found a Gem in Stills. Grade (A+)

Notable Free Agents:
Blake Whiteheart: Solid blocker, reliable pass catcher, could be the teams TE 3 for years to come if continues to develop.

Emari Demarcado: Such a patient runner, has already taken over from Ingram, if we’ve found our RB2 as an UDFA, you love to see that.

Overall, more good grades then bad for the offseason, I think we hired the right people for the jobs we needed to. We had a great draft and secured so much stock for 2024, which has been touted as a far better prospect rich draft then 2023 was. I know its tough sledding starting a rebuild, but I think that the Cardinals are on track to become a solid team in a year or two. It’ll be interesting to see how the K1 situation works it self out, but I think we should stick with him and continue to surround him with talent.

2024 Draft: I think the best thing to do would be trade back with a QB needy team and continue to stockpile picks to add talent across the board. It would mean passing on a player like Marvin Harris Jr, which I’m not sold on yet, however with Blatant needs at many positions, it might be the way to go.

(Trade w/ LV - Cardinals receive Pick 8, Pick 39, 2024 1st, 2024 3rd, 2025 1st or 2nd - Raiders receive Pick 1)

Pick 1.8 - Kool-Aid McKinstry CB, Alabama: It was between Mckinstry or Newton, honestly its a coinflip for me, it would be great if Newton fell to 12, but I thought that DB was of much bigger need for us.

Pick 1.12 - Jer’Zhan Newton DL, Illinois: This is honestly my dream first round for the Cardinals, 2 positions of weakness, and we get probably the best player at each in the first round. Was tempted with JC Latham here, but defense wins championships.

Pick 2.33 - Taliese Fuaga OT, Oregon State: I don’t see Fuaga falling out of the first in real life, but he was there for me. A polished RT prospect with elite upside, which also allows Paris to go back and play LT. Both protecting K1 for years to come.

Pick 2.39 - Sedrick Van Pran OC, Georgia: It might be a little early for Van Pran to come off the board, but he is the clear cut best Centre in the draft, we continue to build the trenches.

Pick 3.65 - Ja’lynn Polk WR, Washinton: We always find success in drafting Huskies, Polk is a violent runner with high catch and run upside. Michael Wilson, Hollywood Brown and Polk is a scary trio. Also allows the team trial Rondale Moore as a true Half back Maybe…?

Pick 3.77 - Donovan Jackson OG, Ohio State: Plays LG and should be an immediate plug and play, also allows Gaines to continue his versatility as our go to back up interior lineman.

Pick 3.78 - T’vondre Sweat DL, Texas: Back to back picks, gotta love it, was hoping for Safety depth here but no one jumped out. Instead we take a true run stuffer big body DT to pair with Stills and Newton. I know people dont like PFF but Sweat is currently the #1 rated IDL in the nation.

I apologise for any spelling or grammatic errors, the future is looking bright for the Cardinals! I know it’s against our nature but lets have a little faith and see what happens! Thanks for the read

​

​