What the NFL Draft Told Us About Mike LaFleur's Real Plan for the Cardinals

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals' 2026 draft told us plenty about what the organization plans to do moving into the future under head coach Mike LaFleur.

LaFleur, who accepted the head coaching opportunity this offseason, hails from creative offensive minds in the likes of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. When most fans think about those attacks, we think of exotic play designs and explosive plays downfield with prominent quarterback and receiver performances.

That would seem to make for a massive change-up from prior offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and the output we saw over the last few seasons.

Yet when looking at the core of what LaFleur's offense projects as in Arizona and the main engine of success in Los Angeles/San Francisco, what the Cardinals plan on doing under LaFleur isn't far from Petzing's main goal — just more so how to accomplish it will be different.

Draft Showed Cardinals Are Going to Run The Damn Ball in 2026

This was sort of evident in free agency, where the Cardinals inked running back Tyler Allgeier to a multi-year contract and signed starting left guard Isaac Seumalo and probable starting right tackle Elijah Wilkinson.

However, the draft hammered this mentality home when running back Jeremiyah Love was made the third overall pick and second-round guard Chase Bisontis followed with their very next pick.

Their two top picks and two top free agency signings all point towards the Cardinals revamping their rushing attack.

“Running back, receiver, tight end—there's no secret in this league explosives are massive. When you look outside of obvious points, what are the two biggest factors statistically, it's turnovers and explosives. It's actually closer than you'd think, and so any time and any way you can generate explosives, that's a good thing for the offense," LaFleur said after the Cardinals drafted Love.

"... I don't have to call the greatest plays sometimes when you just get the ball to a guy like (TE) Trey McBride, he breaks three tackles and he turns it into an explosive. Same thing with our receivers, so anytime you can get that from the backs, it's just that next position that allows you to get those explosives."

The Cardinals' rushing attack ranked near the bottom of the league in several categories last season, ranging from rushing yards per game to advanced analytics such as yards averaged before contact.

Take into account where LaFleur's Los Angeles Rams' offense was last year (seventh in NFL yards per game rushing) while their two running backs (Blake Corum and Kyren Williams) finished first and seventh in the league in yards averaged before contact, respectively.

That's a glaring sign of systematic success, and you'll need an upgraded offensive line to ensure those trends continue. After Seumalo was signed, Bisontis' arrival to expectingly start at right guard should get the job done there.

The Cardinals aren't going to try and reinvent the wheel in Arizona, but the commitment to getting a disaster rushing attack back on track to pair with passing weapons in the likes of Trey McBride, Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. should bode well.

Get ready to learn running the ball, buddy.

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