22. Arizona Cardinals
This is going to be a pivotal year for the Arizona Cardinals for a lot of reasons. The money spent on Kyler Murray and the investments made in the talent around him are going to be expected to all show some real signs of progress this coming season.
Murray is being paid like a player who can truly elevate a team to playoff contender status, and that’s going to be the expectation from the organization this year. The Cardinals took their lumps in year one of the Jonathan Gannon era, and they managed to win eight games last year. The arrow is pointing up. It needs to get to the next level this coming season.
The key for Arizona is going to be their defense, and maybe more specifically the pass rush. The Cardinals brought in Josh Sweat to reunite with Jonathan Gannon and hopefully bring some of that Philly magic.
21. New York Giants
In the offseason, you tend to overthink things a little bit, and I can’t help but wonder if many of us – myself included – have been overthinking the New York Giants a bit. The Giants have done more with less, and the additions they’ve made the past couple of years could end up getting this team back into the 7-9 win range.
The Giants getting Russell Wilson to raise the floor at QB feels like it’s being perceived as a joke or gimmick, but Wilson might have a tough time failing with the playmakers he’s got around him there.
The one area of this Giants roster that is undeniably good is the defensive front, and having the ability to dominate in the trenches on either side of the ball raises the floor for a team. The addition of Abdul Carter along with Brian Burns last year, and the duo of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence? The Giants have a little more cooking than anyone seems to realize.