Week 1 Consensus NFL Power Rankings: Cardinals’ Place More Sour Than Sweet

ARIZONA — The 2026 regular season is set to kickoff, and the Arizona Cardinals, to no surprise, find themselves near the bottom of every set of NFL power rankings ahead of Week 1.

That's expected, even if unfortunate, as the Cardinals enter the season with a new head coach, a missing franchise passer and a defense that's largely a question mark.

Can the Cardinals play spoiler to the Los Angeles Chargers? That remains to be seen, though when evaluating their placement, it's clear Arizona's got their work cut out for them to begin the year.

ESPN: 30th

ESPN's Josh Weinfuss says a milestone to watch is Trey McBride passing Jimmy Graham for most receptions by a tight end in their first five years in the league.

"McBride needs 40 receptions to pass Graham's record (386). At the rate McBride has been going lately, that should take just a handful of games," wrote Weinfuss.

"He is coming off his first All-Pro season and has been averaging 118.5 receptions per season the past two years. So getting 40 shouldn't be a problem, especially in new coach Mike LaFleur's offense."

CBS Sports: 30th

Pete Prisco said: "New coach Mike LaFleur inherits a team with quarterback issues. Oh, and he plays in a division with three really good teams. Good luck."

NFL.com: 25th

Nick Shook was higher than most on the Cardinals in his first batch of power rankings.

"Jeremiyah Love's ankle injury put a damper on an otherwise-encouraging preseason for this downtrodden franchise. On the bright side, there is optimism that the No. 3 overall pick still could play in Week 1.

"Not to mention, Arizona has other weapons on offense. On the dark side, the Cardinals' schedule is an absolute beast. Rookie coach Mike LaFleur will have to prove himself from the start with an opener in Los Angeles against the Chargers."

SI.com: 30th

Conor Orr has an interesting experiment that shows the Cardinals' roster is better than some think.

"Thought experiment: Put the Cardinals’ roster on the Titans and put the Titans’ roster on the Cardinals. If we do this, we’re still talking about the Cardinals (with Titans players) being an absolute disaster and picking in the top three. The Titans (with the Cardinals players) may actually be a case for slightly more optimism.

"While Arizona doesn’t have the sheer dominance of a player like Jeffery Simmons, the team has talent, albeit in the hardest division in the NFL and with the hardest schedule in the NFL."

Fox Sports: 31st

Ralph Vacchiano was pretty short and to the point with his Cardinals evaluation:

"They have so many young, exciting skill players, but still no QB to make it all work. And now RB Jeremiyah Love has an ankle injury that could keep him out of the opener, too," he said.

Yahoo!: 31st

We're sensing a theme with these rankings — as a lack of quarterback and possibly no Jeremiyah Love is really weighing the Cardinals down.

"The most egregious injury of the preseason was running back Jeremiyah Love, the third overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft who suffered a high ankle sprain as he got 14 first-half touches in his preseason debut," wrote Frank Schwab.

"If Love is affected for most or some of his rookie season — high ankle sprains can linger for a while — it's not a good look for rookie head coach Mike LaFleur."

The Athletic: 30th

The Cardinals have one of the lowest projected win totals for the 2026 season at 4.5.

"No team has a lower projected win total than the Cardinals. So why aren’t they last here? It’s not their fault that they have the brutal task of facing the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers a total of six times this season. Between that and Jeremiyah Love, we’ll give them a slight nod over our last-place team," they said.

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