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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Arizona Cardinals used their No. 3 overall pick to select what many viewed as the best all-around talent in the entire 2026 NFL Draft in Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love.
The franchise hired Rams' offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, as the new head coach. And Trey McBride is coming off a career year and is arguably the best tight end in football. But that's about all there is to get excited about in Arizona.
The Cardinals went 3-14 last season with a defense that allowed 357.7 yards per game (27th most in the NFL) and 28.7 points per game (29th). They also just lost their longtime franchise quarterback, Kyler Murray, and are attempting to replace him with either Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, or incoming third-round rookie Carson Beck.
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On Monday, The Athletic's Mike Jones was quick to call out the Cardinals for their "conservative" offseason that may actually make them even worse in 2026.
"At 3-14, the Cardinals already had a low floor, but they actually might be worse after this offseason," Jones wrote. "The team has several big question marks hanging over the coaching staff after taking a large gamble on first-time head coach Mike LaFleur ... LaFleur hired Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator, despite Hackett’s struggles as head coach with the Broncos and as offensive coordinator with the Jets ... Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 pick in the draft, represents the main bright spot in an offseason of conservative moves."
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The Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon in January and hired LaFleur as his replacement, marking the team's third head coach in five seasons. LaFleur is a respected offensive mind, but his track record as a play-caller is a mixed bag.
He had two poor seasons as the Jets' offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022 before joining the Rams in 2023, where he oversaw a top-10 scoring offense in his first season before falling to 20th in 2024. And that's with a group that featured Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams.
Then there's the addition of Hackett, who, funny enough, took over as the Jets OC after LaFleur was fired in 2023, only for him to be on the way out just a year later.
In the quarterback room, Brissett brings the most experience. But Jones noted his 1-11 record as a starter, and there's apparently friction between him and the organization as he pushes for a new contract. Past him, you're either looking at a rookie who's never started an NFL game before or Minshew, who struggled in limited action with the Chiefs last year.
The Cardinals also have one of the worst offensive lines in the league, and did very little this offseason to improve it, with Sharp Football Analysis recently ranking them 26th in the NFL.
As if all of this wasn't bad enough, Arizona also has one of the toughest schedules in the NFL in 2026, having to face the AFC West, NFC East, and its own NFC West rivals.
Love might emerge as one of the league's best young running backs. But there's a chance nobody will be watching it happen as Arizona struggles to piece together wins.
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