Where Cardinals Fall in Preseason Rankings

The Arizona Cardinals march into the preseason still not loved by national media power rankings.

Aug 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals have a fair amount of optimism as 2024 approaches.

That's not exactly reflected from the national media perspective.

In NFL.com's preseason power rankings, the Cardinals landed at No. 27 out of the 32 teams.

"There appears to be real momentum with the Cardinals, who played competitive football at the end of last season. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing worked with what he had early and did well merging forces with Kyler Murray after the QB returned from injury," wrote Eric Edholm.

"The offense isn't yet a top-10 group, mind you, but there is some excitement around that unit, especially after the addition of WR Marvin Harrison Jr. -- and the team's biggest problems mostly lie on defense. I was impressed with Jonathan Gannon's team in Year 1, especially with how consistently hard Arizona played through the season.

"His biggest mission this season has to be making the defense semi-competent. That's the side of the ball where his expertise lies, and the talent at least has been moderately upgraded. The NFC West is no joke."

The Cardinals certainly look to improve from their 4-13 record last season, and despite dropping their preseason opener to the New Orleans Saints, head coach Jonathan Gannon likes where the team is heading:

"I thought we battled. I told them I liked our effort, our enthusiasm. I thought violence, motor was pretty good. Hitting was on display. The most important thing for us right now is we got to learn. So obviously, we're not enthused about a win, but we did some good things," said Gannon.

The Cardinals are on the road this week against the Indianapolis Colts.