Getty Image / Kevin Abele
The 2022 NFL season was a tough one for the Arizona Cardinals.
After making a run to the playoffs in 2021, they followed it by laying an egg.
The team was awful in 1st halves and repeatedly required magic in the second half to win games.
That magic didn’t come often and the Cardinals won just 4 games.
Kyler Murray tearing his ACL early on in their week 14 matchup against the Patriots certainly didn’t help the cause, but their season was essentially over before the injury occurred.
That injury will have a much bigger impact on their 2023 season. With the injury coming so late in the year, it is unclear when Murray will be ready to go next season.
That has led to the Cardinals beginning a rebuild.
Luckily for Cardinals fans, they have set themselves up for that rebuild to be quick.
Next season is going to be tough early on. Without Kyler Murray, the Cardinals clearly have one of the NFL’s worst rosters.
However, that will be pretty helpful for the rebuild.
The Cardinals already added Paris Johnson early in this year’s draft and followed it up by addressing needs on defense with BJ Ojulari and Garrett Williams.
However, they still have a long way to go to put together a competitive roster.
Getting another top 5 pick would help them with that.
In fact, they could end up with 2 picks in the top 5.
They own the Texans’ first rounder next season and they are likely to be another of the NFL’s worst rosters in 2023.
Those 2 first rounders are just 2 of the 11 they own in the 2023 draft, which includes 6 in the first 3 rounds.
Arizona Cardinals’ current 2024 draft picks:
1st-round pick
1st-round pick (Texans)
2nd-round pick
3rd-round pick
3rd-round pick (Texans)
3rd-round pick (Titans)
4th-round pick
4th-round pick (projected compensatory pick)
5th-round pick
5th-round pick (Eagles)
7th-round pick— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2023
They could even land another pick in the first half of the draft if they are able to trade DeAndre Hopkins.
The Arizona Cardinals have one big advantage over most teams that find themselves rebuilding. They already have their quarterback.
They also have some other young pieces to build around in Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore, Trey McBride, Isaiah Simmons, Zaven Collins.
They could also have a lot of cap space heading into 2024.
If the Cardinals make free agency count next offseason, they could then add a pair of elite players in the draft and then some more good pieces later in the draft to suddenly have a team that looks like it will actually compete in the near future.
There is still a lot they need to get right, but the Arizona Cardinals have themselves in position to finish their rebuild quickly.