After last year’s issues dealing with Kyler Murray’s injury, the Cardinals now have a full season to see what Murray can do leading their offense. The Cardinals feel like a team on the rise, as they have a lot of exciting young players. If the defense can just get a little bit better, they could finish close to .500.
Murray is one of the more frustrating players in fantasy football. He’s got all the talent in the world, including a rocket arm and tremendous mobility. However, he just is never able to stay healthy. Murray is going in the mid to late 7th round, which shows you that fantasy football managers really love his upside, but until he can stay healthy for a full season, there are more questions with Murray than answers. As a special note to best ball drafters, it’s pretty easy to get a Cardinals stack of Murray with Harrison and McBride. If you’re able to do that, there is an upside there as they play the Rams in week 17.
This may be Conner’s last season as a starter, but it also might be unfair to think that he can’t play for a few more seasons. He’s a very aggressive running back who catches passes beautifully out of the backfield and is a terrific blocker. Dynasty managers are willing to write him off, thinking that Trey Benson will be the likely starter in 2025, but so long as Conner plays well, I think he can stick around in Arizona.
There are a lot of people who thought that Benson was the best overall running back in this past year’s NFL draft. I watched Benson play a lot at Florida State and came away impressed with his skill set. However, I see him being the backup this season to James Conner, which is probably the right thing until Benson learns how to play a full season at the NFL level. He’s a great stash and cash type of play.
We often use the word generational talent when it comes to young players with tremendous upside. In the case of Harrison, there really is generational talent as he’s a second-generation Harrison to play in the NFL. His father, Marvin Harrison, was an outstanding wide receiver for the Colts who played with Peyton Manning. Harrison Jr. was exceptional at Ohio State (where he played with CJ Stroud) and should be the type of rookie receiver who can come in and make an impact, much like Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. I don’t think it’s out of the question for Harrison to get 150 or so targets as a rookie, and he has an outstanding chance of going over 1000 yards and getting double-digit touchdowns.
I’m a big fan of McBride and feel that he has only scratched the surface of his potential. My only knock on him is that last season, the Cardinals really didn’t have a true WR1, but this season, with Harrison around, McBride could lose a significant number of targets. If McBride gets somewhere in the neighborhood of five to seven targets a game, it could devalue him slightly in drafts, making him a better pick in Rounds 5-6 than in four, where he is currently going.
For years, the Cardinals have been a laughingstock in the NFL, but with the addition of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson and the inspired play of Trey McBride, it’s easy to picture the Cardinals as one of the top young offenses in 2024.
