Why Rebuilding Cardinals Expect To Contend In Ultra-Competitive NFC West

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Los Angeles Rams are the offseason Super Bowl champs because of their blockbuster moves through the draft and free agency, and the actual defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, also play in their division.

So, should the lowly Arizona Cardinals even show up to play this year in the best division in football, the NFC West?

I posed that question to receiver Michael Wilson, one of the last players to leave the field after running routes with starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, coaxing raised eyebrows and a smirk.

"The Cardinals have always not gotten a lot of respect," Wilson told me. "Since I’ve been here, we’ve never been a team that people thought were going to win a bunch of games. But it is what it is. 

"Truthfully, we really don’t care because in Week 1 we’ve got to play the Chargers. The following week we play Seattle and the next week we have to play San Francisco. So, none of that matters. It’s just all optics and fluff to us."

Yes, the Cardinals have the longest odds to reach the Super Bowl and are led by their fourth different head coach in a decade. Former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is now leading the show, and he showed the same energy as Wilson as he high-fived players and bounced around the field. Arizona lost nine straight games to finish the 2025 season, losing by an average of 16 points a game and resulting in the firing of defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon after three seasons.

Still, there’s a belief here among core returning players that they have enough talent to hold their own this season. NFL observers will get their first look at the Cardinals as they take on the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game. LaFleur will sit most of his starters, including No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love. 

"The Super Bowl is not tomorrow," Brissett told me when asked about his team’s low expectations nationally. "Everybody’s 0-0 right now. We’ve had a long offseason getting ready for the preseason and training camp. The teams that look forward that far ahead, that’s where you think about how far you’re getting from the end goal. I think for us, our mindset is just getting better each day. You stack up days, keep putting one foot in front of the other and the end goal kind of comes to you, rather than you having to go run to it." 

The reason for that optimism in the desert is the offense, which returns most of the starters from a group that finished seventh in passing offense last season. Brissett, 33, will be playing with core players for a second season in a row for the first time in his 11-year NFL career, which means the Cardinals do not have to reestablish chemistry and rapport among their playmakers. 

However, Brissett is behind in learning the offense after a contract impasse that kept him out of offseason work and lasted until the start of training camp. Brissett, who represents himself, eventually agreed to a reworked deal that provided him a deserved pay bump to $15 million in base salary that could be worth up to $21 million if incentives are met as the team’s starting quarterback. 

Brissett has plenty of playmakers at his disposal, including one of the best tight ends in the league (Trey McBride), a player looking to make a jump in (2024 No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr.) and versatile wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.

The Cardinals also have one of the deeper running back rooms in the league, led by the explosive Love, free-agent pickup Tyler Allgeier and bruising veteran runner James Conner. Allgeier and Love split reps with the first group during training camp as Conner works himself back from a season-ending leg injury.

But perhaps the best example of the Cardinals’ potential is Wilson. The Stanford product had just eight catches for 52 yards and a score through the first five games of last season. Wilson turned it on after that, though. He finished the year with his first 1,000-yard season, totaling 78 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns.

Wilson earned an expanded role in the offense when fellow receiver Harrison suffered appendicitis that required surgery and a foot issue that forced him to miss a handful of games in the second half of the season.

"After last season, it was like ‘Holy sh--," Wilson told me. "I think over an eight-game stretch I was second in every receiver stat to Puka Nacua. And in my book, Puka Nacua was the best receiver in the NFL last year. And so now I know that’s the standard and I’m capable of being a top 10 receiver in the NFL.

"I’ve always had such a high standard for myself. In high school, within my community and region, I was always one of the best receivers. In college, within my team, I was always one of the best. When I went to the Senior Bowl, I was always one of the best. So, I feel like regardless of the room I’m in or the situation, I feel like on a long enough timescale I’ll find a way to rise to the top." 

Wilson has earned the role as the team’s No. 1 receiver and will be used in a similar manner to Robert Woods and Nacua in a Sean McVay-style offense brought over by LaFleur. 

Tasked with helping to implement the offense will be new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. A former head coach himself who served as an offensive coordinator for Mike LaFleur’s older brother, Matt LaFleur, in Green Bay, Hackett will be upstairs in the booth and not call plays.

And Hackett will help take some of the offensive game-planning responsibilities off LaFleur’s plate. He offers a wealth of experience in the West Coast offense. One of the originators of the innovative offense developed by Bill Walsh is Hackett’s father, Paul Hackett, who was at practice during my time at Arizona’s training camp.

"He’s the original O.G.," Hackett told me about his father.  "He’s been around some of the best, so he knows what it looks like and what you have to do to be great in this league. So, it’s fun to have him come in and talk about why things were originally started. He was there when some of our protections were invented the very first time. To have a guy like that is just unbelievable, and the players he’s coached." 

Hackett said expectations are high for Love, who will not play in Thursday’s Hall of Fame game but has looked good running the football during training camp.

"It’s a lot like the stuff he’s done in the past," Hackett told me when I asked about Love’s transition to a new offense. "We’re a combination of outside zone, downhill runs and all kinds of stuff. He’s got to learn the system and get comfortable with it. Learn the intricacies, the footwork and where his eyes are. As a rookie, it takes them some time, but he’s got some amazing talent and he works hard, so it’s going to be fun to watch him grow."

Hackett told me he’s also been pleased with the growth and development of rookie third-round draft pick Carson Beck, who will start at quarterback for the Cardinals against the Carolina Panthers in Canton. Hackett said the Cardinals were attracted to Beck’s 43 college starts and the adversity he faced in leading Miami to the National title game after transferring from Georgia. 

"That’s unbelievable experience," Hackett told me. "Because when you get to this league, if you have one bad game it’s a fascinating experience (laughs). I think just to see how he operated in that way. He’s very talented; he’s also very smart. 

"And those are some of the things that we’re very excited about him. But just being out here, it’s been great to see when he makes a mistake, he doesn’t get in the tank. He appreciates it, and he doesn’t make that same mistake twice. I really like that about him."

Third-round rookie Carson Beck will start for the Cardinals in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

But in my conversations with Arizona players about the upcoming season, they emphasized that the Cardinals are not waving the white flag and playing for draft position to potentially select a franchise quarterback in 2027. The Cardinals believe they can challenge the rest of the NFC West — even if the rest of the league has serious doubts. 

"I remember when we were in Jacksonville, and we were supposed to be the worst team ever," Hackett told me. "We came out, won the division and went to the AFC Championship Game and almost went to the Super Bowl. So, the season is so fluid. The season changes so much. What we look like this moment might look different in Week 10. 

"Of course, people are going to have their predictions and say what they’re going to say. And they’re going to think about us how they think about us. But in the end, we just go out and do our job."