Despite being projected to finish at the bottom of the NFC West division, as well as the league standings once again, there is still plenty of reason to be excited about the Arizona Cardinals in 2026.
To start, the offense has made a massive amount of improvements. First, bringing in Isaac Seumalo to bolster the offensive line, then drafting running back Jeremiyah Love at pick No. 3 in April out of Notre Dame.
You also have to look at who the Cardinals already have, starting with Trey McBride, who is unquestionably the league’s best tight end after a career season. Arizona also saw Michael Wilson take a huge step in his growth at wide receiver, posting his first 1,000-yard season. Wilson also posted 500+ yards in the five games that Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn’t in the lineup due to injury.
However, back to Jeremiyah Love, as much hype as he is getting, one ESPN analyst wouldn’t be surprised if his inaugural campaign was a complete flop.
“Jeremiyah Love might be another. It's always difficult to project (even highly drafted) backs for immediate success -- look at Ashton Jeanty's rookie season -- but the Cardinals should have more around the Notre Dame product to let him thrive. Between Love, Tyler Allgeier, and James Conner, the Cardinals have the deepest backfield in the league, although I'd expect Conner to be moved before the start of the season.” — Bill Barnwell
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We’ve seen instances where running backs don’t immediately produce, and Ashton Jeanty is the most recent example of that. Selected with the No. 6 overall pick in 2025 by the Las Vegas Raiders, Jeanty struggled to get it going on the ground game.
We’ll see how Love responds to his critics.
