How the 49ers Roster Stacks Up Against the Cardinals Roster

These teams are extremely evenly matched.

This weekend, I compared the 49ers roster to the Seahawks roster position by position. Today, let's compare the 49ers and the Cardinals. Later this week, we'll compare the 49ers and the Rams.

QUARTERBACK

Cardinals: Kyler Murray

49ers: Trey Lance

Advantage: Cardinals. Lance probably has more raw talent than Murray, as Lance essentially is a giant version of him, but Murray has three year's of experience as a starter in the NFL and Lance has two 2.5 games, so Murray has to rank higher than Lance right now.

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

Cardinals: WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Hollywood Brown, WR A.J. Green, TE Zach Ertz, RB James Conner.

49ers: WR Deebo Samuel, WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle, RB Elijah Mitchell, FB Kyle Juszczyk.

Advantage: 49ers. The Cardinals traded for Hollywood Brown this offseason, and he's a big addition, but Hopkins is old and suspended for six games, Green and Ertz are old and washed up, and Conner is nothing special, which is a big reason the Cardinals can't run the ball.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Cardinals: LT D.J. Humphries, LG Justin Pugh, C Rodney Hudson, RG Will Hernandez, RT Kelvin Beachum.

49ers: LT Trent Williams, LG Aaron Banks, C Jake Brendel, RG Daniel Brunskill, RT Mike McGlinchey.

Advantage: Cardinals. The Cardinals are the only team in the NFC West that has a good starting offensive lineman at all five positions. The 49ers have one good starting offensive lineman -- Trent Williams.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Cardinals: EDGE Markus Golden, DT J.J. Watt, DT Zach Allen, EDGE Devon Kennard.

49ers: Nick Bosa, Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, Samson Ebukam.

Advantage: 49ers. The Cardinals lost Chandler Jones to free agency this offseason, and most likely will lose Watt to an injury at some point this season, as he seems to get hurt every year. Which means the Cardinals are thin on the D-line, as opposed to the 49ers, who might have the deepest D-line in the NFL.

LINEBACKERS:

Cardinals: Isaiah Simmons, Zaven Collins, Nick Vigil.

49ers: Azeez Al-Shaair, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw.

Advantage: 49ers. Simmons and Collins are young former first-round picks who are improving, but Warner and Al-Shaair probably are the best linebacker duo in the league.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:

Cardinals: CB Marco Wilson, CB Antonio Hamilton, NCB Byron Murphy, FS Jalen Thompson, SS Budda Baker.

49ers: CB Charvarius Ward, CB Emmanuel Moseley, NCB Samuel Womack, FS Jimmie Ward, SS Talanoa Hufanga.

Advantage: Cardinals. Both teams have three good DBs. The 49ers have Moseley and the two Wards, while the Cardinals have Murphy, Thompson and Baker. The difference is the Cardinals' good DBs are playmakers while the 49ers' good DBs are not. Murphy, Thompson and Baker combined to intercept 10 passes last season, while Moseley and the two Wards combined to intercept just five. Plus Murphy can play outside or in the slot while the 49ers' top cornerbacks only play outside.

FINAL SCORE

49ers: 3

Cardinals: 3

These teams are extremely evenly matched. And while the Cardinals beat the 49ers twice last season, Arizona also lost its best pass rusher this year. So if Lance plays well and the 49ers secondary exceeds expectations, they could be better than the Cardinals in 2022.