Which Cardinals are trending up 4 games in? Who needs to step up?

TEMPE — Just like that, a quarter of the regular season is in the books for the Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL.

At 1-3 amid a daunting schedule and head coach Mike LaFleur’s first year on the job, Arizona is right around where many expected them to be.

How the Cardinals got to this point, though, isn’t exactly how we all drew it up in our minds, especially when looking at some of key contributors and those who need to step it up.

Max Melton among Cardinals trending up

The 2024 second-round pick’s status on the roster was unclear heading into the offseason. He fell out of the starting rotation last year and appeared to fall out of favor with the coaching staff.

Fast forward four games into the season, though, and he’s been one of the team’s top defensive backs.

Parlaying a strong training camp and preseason into a strong start, Melton is up to three passes defensed and 12 tackles (one for loss).

It’s a welcome sight for the defense, which lost Will Johnson to a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.

The defense has plenty of issues. Melton, however, has been among the unit’s biggest bright spots this year.

He’ll need to put his best foot forward this week against a Lions offense that currently sits third in passing yards per game with 287.3 and fifth in passing touchdowns scored with nine.

That’ll happen when Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams are on the same team.

A reunion made for the big screen

Roy Lopez’s return to Arizona for his second stint with the franchise couldn’t be going any better.

He’s helped solidify the middle of the defensive line with four starts, nine stops and 14 tackles (one for loss).

“His ability to anchor a double team, and then when that double team releases, show up and hit the ball, has impressed me a lot,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said Thursday.

“That is a huge component of either freeing up a linebacker, or if they get to that second level, that guy making a play. He’s been big for us in that regard.”

Picking up the slack

Jeremiyah Love has shown flashes early on in his NFL career. He’s also dealt with separate ankle issues, limiting his full impact.

That’s opened up the door for Tyler Allgeier to find more playing time than some expected given the draft capital used on the rookie and his contract filled with guaranteed money.

Last week was a prime example of that, with Allgeier staying in the game for the team’s last gasp of a comeback in Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. That hasn’t been the first time it’s been Allgeier over Love in those kinds of crucial situations, too.

The veteran also found paydirt for the first time this year.

It was clear the ankle issue hobbled Love — he was seen limping midgame. So, while Love gives Arizona game-breaking talent, the franchise is going to continue to be cautious with him until he’s fully past the issue.

Having Allgeier to lean on only helps with that.

Getting noticed

Darius Robinson has not lived up to the 2024 first-round pick Arizona used on the defensive lineman.

He has, however, shown up more than he has in recent seasons.

The lineman’s best game in a while came last week in New York, where he registered his first sack of the season.

He’s up to eight stops, 12 tackles and two pressures on the year.

More of that, and the conversation about the young defender just might start changing for the better.

Young pass rusher making some noise

Jordan Burch is quietly near the top of the team’s stat sheet through four weeks. He’s tied for second in sacks with one, tied for fourth in pressures with four and is second in tackles for loss with two.

He has a better quarterback pressure rate (9.5%) than any other pass rusher in the outside linebackers room entering play this week.

The Cardinals need more out of Burch and others if they hope to turn things around defensively.

His start to the season, however, is a promising move in the right direction.

About what we all expected

Sure, the Cardinals brought in Love and Kendrick Bourne to help round Arizona’s playmakers.

The offense still very much begins with Trey McBride and Michael Wilson.

The tight end is well on his way to breaking even more NFL records after a strong start to the year. McBride leads the team in touchdowns (two), receptions (33) and targets (45). He trails only Wilson (258) in receiving yards (242).

With one more catch, McBride will pass Rob Gronkowski (380) for the fourth-most receptions by a tight end under the age of 27 in NFL history.

He needs just seven catches on Sunday to surpass Jimmy Graham (386) for the most catches by a tight end in their first five season in NFL history.

Wilson, meanwhile, is on his way to a 100-catch season after making 25 receptions for 258 yards and a touchdown through four weeks.

It’s clear LaFleur is making it a priority to get both involved on a regular basis. That shouldn’t change anytime soon.

Showing off the boot!

Chad Ryland’s first field goal attempt of the season — a miss — was not “trending up” territory.

Since then, though, he’s been nails.

Through four weeks, Ryland is 8-of-9 with most of his work coming between 40-49 yards.

He notched a career long 60-yarder last week to only add to his strong start to the year.

Given his eight misses last year, it’s a great sign for the four-year pro.

Jacoby Brissett among Cardinals trending down

The talk surrounding Brissett and Arizona’s quarterback situation isn’t going away without putting some wins on the board.

Unfortunately, the optics and Arizona’s schedule don’t scream multiple victories in the near future.

With every loss, interception (batted pass or not), or poor offensive execution, the pressure to make a change is only going to grow.

Even if it’s not entirely on Brissett — the defense continues to give up 30 points on the regular — he’s going to be a scapegoat for change soon rather than later unless a drastic turnaround enters the chat.

And that just seems highly unlikely.

The offensive line is up against it

Heading into the year, the right side of the Cardinals’ offensive line was viewed as a sore spot that needed improvement.

It’s lived up to just that, with both Elijah Wilkinson and Isaiah Adams struggling to find consistency through four weeks.

To add to the issues, Adams is down this week with an ankle injury. Can Jon Gaines II give this team something more?

The other side is down bad, too, thanks to Paris Johnson Jr.’s season-ending biceps injury.

Now, it’s on rookie Jayden Williams to pick up the slack left behind by Johnson. Welcome to the league, rook!

Jeremiyah Love is where?!

That is not a typo.

While Love has all the intangibles of being the next best thing in Arizona, injury issues have not allowed him to fully unleash his abilities.

Jeremiyah Love and the Cardinals begin their Week 5 practice prep for the Lions. https://t.co/jhFu1prcXO

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) October 7, 2026

Instead, it has put him into even more of a timeshare with Allgeier.

And with no time to properly heal, there’s no telling how much “maintenance” Love is going to have throughout the year.

The chatter continues

Marvin Harrison Jr. looked to be on an upward trend after scoring his first touchdown of the season on Sunday.

Amid all the noise about his lack of production, the wide receiver quieted the talk… for the time being.

Instead of turning Sunday’s game into a career highlight, with his shhh! celebration the exclamation point, Harrison ended the contest with just the one catch and 12 receiving yards.

Regardless of him finding the end zone, that is not the stat line a No. 4 overall pick should be putting up.

In fact, none of his showings so far this season have lived up to that billing. His five catches for 85 yards and a score should be a single-game total, not a season total!

It’s clear Harrison is not atop the pecking order of playmakers. That belongs to Wilson and McBride. Love is working his way in there, too, and should only see more playing time as soon as he’s passed the ankle problem.

In this offense, Harrison is even more of an afterthought. That’s a big reason why his name has been thrown around in trade reports in recent weeks.

Those rumors likely aren’t going away anytime soon, either.

Related

Report: Colts would entertain idea of trading for Marvin Harrison Jr.Cardinals-Lions Week 5 injury report: Jeremiyah Love limited for 2nd straight dayMarvin Harrison Jr. is ‘paying no mind’ to all that trade talkJacoby Brissett not shying away from the noise as the losses pile upJayden Williams not overthinking things ahead of 1st career NFL startReport: Cardinals signing former top-10 pick Jedrick Wills Jr. after Paris Johnson Jr. injury