The Arizona Cardinals experienced a disastrous season in 2022. But the signs are good that the athletic turnaround will succeed

The Arizona Cardinals are in what feels like a permanent crisis. Since they lost the NFC Championship Game in the 2015 season, it’s been almost all downhill.

Only once in the past seven seasons did they qualify for the playoffs, but in the 2021 season they were eliminated in the Wild Card Round by the Los Angeles Rams. In the last season, they only managed four wins.

But the big turnaround could come in 2024. The reason is the NFL Draft next year. The Cardinals have eleven draft picks for 2024, including two first-round picks, one second-round pick and three third-round picks.

The Cardinals received the Houston Texans’ first-round pick for 2024 in the 2023 NFL Draft because the Texans moved up from number twelve to the Cardinals’ number three pick to select pass rusher Will Anderson Jr.

Cardinals and Texans are the big underdogs in 2023

This could pay off in the coming year. According to most leading betting sites, the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans are the biggest underdogs to win the Super Bowl in the 2023 season

So, these two teams are expected to finish the season the worst.

There are a lot of picks in the 2024 draft

Should this actually come true, the Cardinals would have the number one pick and number two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. With quarterback Kyler Murray already committed to the team long-term through 2028, they wouldn’t have to draft a passer, but could simply pick the best available players in the draft.

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr, Florida State defensive end Jared Verse, Alabama cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry and Crimson Tide edge rusher Dallas Turner are considered possible candidates.

Or could a quarterback come into focus after all? USC playmaker Caleb Williams is considered a potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and will be coached by, of all people, former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury this upcoming season.

Kyler Murray is suffering from a torn ACL

Murray tore his ACL on game day 14 of last season. The recovery process appears to be progressing well. “He’s progressing well,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said on PHNX’s Cardinals Podcast.

While it’s unlikely he’ll be fit by the start of the season. However, he should be ready to return to action over the course of the 2023 season.

After all, the Cardinals’ rosy future doesn’t begin until a year later anyway.