ESPN’s Graziano picks one surprise about the 2024 Cardinals

With quarterback Kyler Murray back fully healthy and the addition of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the Arizona Cardinals offense will attempt to make noise in the NFC West this season.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes there’s a legitimate chance they can. He has the Cardinals finishing with a top-10 offense as one of his surprises for this season. 

I’ve heard nothing but positives about quarterback Kyler Murray, which is a far cry from what we were hearing out of Arizona a couple of years ago. The Cardinals were 10th in offensive EPA, 10th in yards per play (5.6) and second in rushing yards per game (152.8) last season after Murray returned from his 2022 season-ending injury in Week 10, and adding receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. this year should be a massive boost to the passing game.

Graziano said there should be optimism for what the Cardinals could do offensively in 2024 after Murray’s return last season.

Murray has now had a fully healthy offseason in Drew Petzing’s offense, and based on what it looked like with him at quarterback in the second half of last season, there’s plenty of reason for optimism on that side of the ball. The defense might be a problem, but the offense in Arizona could be a lot of fun to watch.

In eight games played, Murray threw for 1,799 yards with 10 touchdowns. He also ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns as he led the Cardinals to a 3-5 record after they started the season 1-8.

How the Cardinals’ offense looks going into 2024?

The Cardinals went through much shuffling on offense this offseason with the addition of Harrison and running back Trey Benson in the draft and receivers Zay Jones and Chris Moore through free agency.

Arizona will be without Jones to start the season after he was suspended five games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Despite the suspension, the Cardinals still have options at the receiving position. In addition to Harrison, second-year receiver Michael Wilson attempts to emerge as the No. 2 receiving option on the team and Greg Dortch potentially lines up as the slot man on offense after the team traded Rondale Moore to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.

Tight end Trey McBride will also be a top option on offense, coming off his best season in 2023, where led the team in receiving catching a 81 passes for 825 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cardinals will kick off their season in Buffalo against the Bills Sept. 8. Kickoff is 10 a.m. MST.