Super Bowl LXI Road Map: Cardinals Fans Shouldn’t Dream About Arch Manning Yet

New coach Mike LaFleur does have enough talent to make some noise and record a handful of wins.

Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love will be counted on heavily during his rookie season to carry much of the running game. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Super Bowl road maps: Jaguars | Bears | Browns | Dolphins | Packers | Lions | Texans | Vikings | Falcons | Chiefs | Buccaneers | Bengals  | Steelers | Colts | Rams | Panthers | Chargers | Titans

Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Cardinals.

It’s likely going to be an uphill battle for coach Mike LaFleur in his first year with the Cardinals. 

With a noticeable hole at quarterback, Arizona is the preseason favorite to land the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft, but there are a few positives here for LaFleur. For starters, the top pick will be extremely coveted, given the likelihood of a stacked class for quarterbacks, with Arch Manning and Dante Moore currently sitting atop most mock drafts. 

While the Cardinals won’t ever admit to prioritizing the No. 1 pick, there are benefits to not having high expectations from the outside world. LaFleur can focus on installing his new offensive scheme at a reasonable pace with a veteran quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, who’s more than capable of quickly grasping new terminology and executing at a high level. 

Additionally, there are already building blocks in place with star tight end Trey McBride and stud left tackle Paris Johnson Jr., along with plenty of upside from wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft.

The defense doesn’t appear as promising, but edge rusher Josh Sweat remains a consistent playmaker, while defensive tackle Walter Nolen III and cornerback Will Johnson showed plenty of promise in their rookie years. 

Not many are giving this team a chance in 2026, but there’s enough talent to at least be competitive and get this rebuild headed in the right direction before worrying about the pivotal ’27 draft. 

Leadership

Landing a talented quarterback won’t fix all of the Cardinals’ problems. Every team still needs quality coaching to win games in the NFL. 

LaFleur will have plenty to prove in his rookie year. How hard his team competes, even if the wins don’t come early, could provide a strong indicator of how his Arizona tenure could go. LaFleur, the younger brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur, has been around the league’s brightest offensive minds, including serving as Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons with the Rams. 

In L.A., LaFleur saw first-hand how innovative an offense can be when operated by an elite quarterback like Matthew Stafford. He also saw how challenging it can be when an offense is operated by an inexperienced signal-caller, which was the case in 2021 and ’22, when he called offensive plays for the Jets and Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in ’21. 

The surroundings in Arizona and New York are similar, but maybe not being rushed to develop a quarterback this season will allow LaFleur more flexibility to build out his offense properly. However, the Cardinals did draft quarterback Carson Beck in the third round in April, and he could compete with Brissett and Gardner Minshew II for the starting job. And if LaFleur goes with the rookie out of Miami, it’s a bit concerning that LaFleur struggled to develop Wilson, especially knowing that he might have to go through a similar experience again if the Cardinals land a top pick in a few months. 

Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett also has experience coaching struggling teams. He replaced LaFleur as the Jets’ OC from 2023 to ’24. Perhaps a do-over in Arizona, learning from their past mistakes, can get LaFleur and Hackett to bring out the best in an offense with plenty of star power at the skill positions.  

On defense, there’s continuity with Nick Rallis, who was retained from coach Jonathan Gannon’s staff and is now heading into his fourth season as the defensive coordinator. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial had the same role with the Giants for the past two seasons and with the Jets for the three seasons before that. 

GM Monti Ossenfort has given LaFleur and his coaching staff a strong core group to get this rebuild headed in the right direction, but he might be the only one in Arizona with pressure this year after getting it wrong with his first coaching hire three years ago. 

Most influential roster move

The Cardinals don’t undervalue the running back position. 

They ignored the endless data that suggests it’s better to wait to draft a running back in the later rounds and quickly nabbed Love, the first player at the position to be drafted in the top three since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 to the Giants in 2018.

Arizona viewed Love as an exception to running back trends, a well-rounded, special talent capable of making an immediate impact. In the lead-up to the draft, Love was compared to Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson, two running backs who are just as dangerous in the passing game. 

With Love’s elite traits, LaFleur can prioritize the running game, considering that the team doesn’t have the best option at quarterback. Also, Arizona made upgrades at guard, signing Isaac Seumalo and drafting Chase Bisontis in the second round this year. These additions could help improve the Cardinals’ stagnant rushing attack, which averaged only 93.1 rushing yards per game and ranked 31st in the league last season. 

Now, the Cardinals are well-equipped to possibly have a strong running game with Love, who rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns in his final season at Notre Dame.

Why this offseason move will (or won’t) work

Unless the Cardinals didn’t know they were going to use their No. 3 pick on Love until late in the draft process, the decision to sign Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million contract in March doesn’t make much sense. 

Allgeier is a terrific runner between the tackles and could have plenty of untapped potential after losing snaps to Robinson in Atlanta the past three seasons. However, the Cardinals already had veteran James Conner and Trey Benson, who was set to be the lead back last year after Conner’s season-ending foot injury in Week 3. However, he sustained a significant knee injury the following week and missed the final three months of the season. 

Perhaps the Cardinals place Conner and Benson on the trading block and opt to focus on the tandem of Love and Allgeier. It’s also not a bad idea to load up on running backs after last year’s injuries at the position, knowing that the quarterback position could be a weakness this year. 

The positional logjam could be a good problem for LaFleur, who utilized the duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum for the past two seasons with the Rams. 

It's been an up-and-down couple of seasons for Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Breakout player candidate: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Many expected Harrison’s breakout season to arrive in his rookie year after he was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft. But he’s been inconsistent in his first two seasons due to poor surroundings and has struggled to adjust to the physicality at the pro level. 

Last season, Harrison gained about 11 pounds of muscle, but that didn’t help him find his footing; he recorded only 41 catches for 608 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games played. Harrison played a full season as a rookie and contributed 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. 

It also didn’t help Harrison that Michael Wilson was the one who found consistency in 2025 and became Brissett’s go-to player. Wilson, a 2023 third-round pick, delivered 78 catches for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns.

LaFleur was hired partly because his scheme could make life easier for Harrison, but he also has to show improvement when it comes to route running. If he can quickly create separation, the rest should work itself out for the 6'3", 220-pound wideout, who had a knack for coming down with contested catches on the perimeter while starring at Ohio State. 

Perhaps Wilson and Harrison can have as much success as Puka Nacua and Davante Adams had playing for LaFleur in Los Angeles last season. 

Missing piece

This segment doesn’t really apply to the Cardinals because they’re not a piece away from contending. Then again, maybe a star quarterback becomes available before the trade deadline on Nov. 10 and takes this talented crew of skill players to the next level. But it’s tough seeing Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson becoming available before November. 

But if the Cardinals land the No. 1 pick in the draft, that could potentially be the missing piece to their latest rebuild. 

Realistic outlook 

Cardinals fans shouldn’t dream about Manning or Moore just yet because LaFleur does have enough talent to make some noise and record a handful of wins. 

Expect the Cardinals to flirt with five to six wins, which might knock them out of the top three of the 2027 draft. Time will tell if this team is interested in competing in ’26.

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