PFF: Cardinals Must Improve in These Areas

The Arizona Cardinals have some glaring holes on their roster, and Pro Football Focus is keyed in on those needs.

The Cardinals are in dire need of front seven upgrades - both off the edge and interior - but PFF says it's both trenches that needs to be reinforced — offensive line included.

PFF compiled a list of all 32 teams' biggest needs, and both lines were the center of attention for Arizona.

According to the article, the Cardinals will need to prioritize finding replacements for some of the better free agent OL in order to maintain the high level of play shown by the big men in 2024.

PFF: Cardinals Must Improve in Trenches

"Will Hernandez, Trystan Colon, and Kelvin Beachum— key contributors on the offensive line — are slated to hit free agency, and all three will need to be replaced in some regard. Paris Johnson Jr., who earned an 80.8 PFF overall grade in his second season, and Jonah Williams are the incumbents at tackle, and Hjalte Froholdt is quietly one of the better centers in the NFL, garnering a 76.1 PFF overall grade in 2024, but there’s room to improve the interior," read the article.

The Cardinals are set to prioritize re-signing the likes of Kelvin Beachum, and interior OL Evan Brown is a must-re-sign. Perhaps PFF meant to mention Brown rather than Colon, though Colon has also been a quietly solid contributor.

If both Brown and Beachum are retained, and some of the younger players like Isaiah Adams develop as Arizona hopes they will, it'll probably be another lucrative statistical year for RB James Conner, and QB Kyler Murray won't hit the ground too often, but signings will need to be made regardless, whether internal or external.

Defensively, the need is much more glaring. The Cardinals saw little to no production out of their defensive line, and struggled to get pressure on the quarterback in 2024 when not blitzing. First-rounder Darius Robinson had an anomalous year, and didn't produce much.

PFF addressed the defensive line as follows:

"Maybe, more importantly, the Cardinals have to improve their defensive line. 2024 first-round pickDarius Robinson played only six games in his rookie season, and the unit generally lacks talent. The Cardinals have the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and could be targeting some help in the trenches."

Remove the "maybe," PFF.

Arizona cannot go into 2025 with the talent they have now. They need to acquire an impact player via trade or free agency, while still investing draft capital and developing the young talent they do have along the defensive front.

If that improvement is truly made, the Cardinals' defense could be a scary sight in 2025, and if both trenches are properly addressed, Arizona will have the foundational building blocks of a true NFC contender in the coming year.