PFF: Cardinals Won Offseason

The Cardinals received a passing grade for their free agency additions thus far.

Josh Sweat speaks to members of the media at the Arizona Cardinals Training Center in Tempe on March 13, 2025. / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals and GM Monti Ossenfort have certainly made an effort to add talent to a team that desperately needed it during this free agency period.

Though the Cardinals missed out on some marquee names, they added tangible reinforcements to a weak defensive line, and added depth to a handful of other, more top-heavy positions.

While some fans, and even some media might have been disappointed with the overall results of the first week of legal tampering, one outlet recognized the Cardinals for the effort they put in to address some of their most pressing needs.

Pro Football Focus compiled a list of grades for each NFL team's free agency thus far. The Minnesota Vikings lead the pack, with a perfect A+ grade, with the Buccaneers, Rams, Commanders and Bills receiving A- grades.

The Cardinals received a B grade for their activity in free agency. That's nothing to be ashamed of, especially considering the thinness of the pass rush market and the relatively limited options.

In all, PFF highlighted the signings of DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DL LJ Collier, WR Zay Jones, QB Jacoby Brissett, EDGE Baron Browning and EDGE Josh Sweat.

With the exception of Sweat, who received an "above average" designation for his signing, each other name listed was considered "average" by PFF. It's clear who both PFF (and Cardinals fans) think the big impact move of the offseason is, and that's justifiably true when looking at the numbers and grades for each player.

For the Sweat move, PFF elaborated as follows:

"Sweat reunites with head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was his defensive coordinator for two years with the Eagles. He gives the Cardinals some much-needed pass-rush help, as Arizona tied for the second-lowest PFF pass-rushing grade last season. Sweat has earned 70.0-plus PFF overall grades in four of the past five seasons and tallied 10.5 sacks across the 2024 regular season and the playoffs, with 2.5 coming in the Super Bowl."

The Cardinals certainly have plenty of distance to go before the roster is in good enough shape to be considered an automatic contender. There is still a lack of depth along the O-line and D-line, and the wide receiver group is in dire need of a strong secondary contributor.

But Ossenfort clearly did what he could to provide quality reinforcements to the Cardinals, particularly along the defensive side. From here, it looks as if Arizona will focus on the NFL Draft to continue adding impact players, with hope that development from previous draft hauls can carry the Cardinals to a playoff berth.

"Winning" the offseason is no tangible achievement, but it's nice to know the Cardinals at least received an above-average, passing grade.