Arizona Cardinals 2024 Futures Odds: Cards Massive Longshots in NFC West

The Arizona Cardinals have the potential to be entertaining offensively in 2024.

Oddsmakers, however, do not expect a major step forward from a team that went 4-13 in both 2022 and 2023.

As long as Kyler Murray, who is entering his sixth season at the helm of the Cardinals offense, is around, this squad will be able to keep things interesting. The real question is whether Murray — the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in 2020 and 2021 — can recapture the magic that made him and the Cardinals dangerous during his first three years as a pro.

In addition to Murray, the Cardinals feature a young head coach, 41-year-old Jonathan Gannon, and exciting talent on offense.

TE Trey McBride broke out last year as a second-year pro, and at WR, No. 4 pick Marvin Harrison Jr. is among the favorites for 2024 NFL Rookie of the Year. In fact, Harrison’s OROY odds are by far the shortest of any of the non-QBs in contention for the award.

Arizona Cardinals 2024 Futures Odds

Oddsmakers expect the Cardinals to be closer to .500 than they were in either 2022 or 2023, but this team is not seen as a threat in the NFC West.

While Murray, Harrison Jr. and RB James Conner could lead a potent offense, Arizona is expected to once again have one of the worst defenses in the league this year.

Last year, the Cardinals allowed the second-most points per game in the NFL at 26.8, and they also finished the season dead-last in opponent adjusted defensive DVOA.

The lack of difference-makers on the defense is the obvious explanation for why little is expected of Arizona this year.

Read more from Newsweek on how to bet the 2024 NFL season

Arizona Cardinals 2024 Betting Outlook

Can Murray help talented offense fulfill its potential?

• PFF OL Unit Ranking: No. 26
• PFF Receiving Unit (WRs/TEs) Ranking: No. 21
• PFF RB Unit Ranking: No. 16

Murray, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, has flashed at times as a dangerous dual-threat QB. Consistency and durability are the two traits he still needs to develop after a torn ACL in December 2022 forced him to miss the final six games of that season, plus the first nine games of 2023.

After returning from that injury last November, Murray struggled initially, posting a sub-90 passer rating in each of his first five starts. He finished the year strong, though.

Could Murray’s play over Arizona’s final three games last year — when he completed 71-of-99 total passes for 724 yards, six TDs and one interception, with individual-game passer ratings of 97.5, 116.7 and 110.7 — be a sign of things to come for 2024 and beyond?

If so, the over could be worth a look in nearly every Cardinals game.

Between Murray, McBride, Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, who was productive as a third-round rookie last year, there’s reason to believe in this offense. That’s especially true if last year’s top pick, OT Paris Johnson Jr., can build on his impressive first season as a pro.

Can the Cardinals defense show that it’s underrated?

• PFF DL Unit Ranking: No. 32
• PFF Linebacker Ranking: No. 32
• PFF Secondary Unit Ranking: No. 32

As bright as the future of the Arizona offense may be, the short-term outlook on defense is bleak, especially if the PFF ratings of the Cardinals’ D-line, linebackers, and DBs prove accurate.

Last year, the Arizona defense was among the worst in the league at stopping the run, and it also finished No. 30 (out of 32 teams) in sacks, with 33, and No. 22 in interceptions, with 11.

The Cardinals addressed the D in a big way in this year’s draft. They took DL Darius Robinson from Missouri at No. 27 overall and CB Max Melton from Rutgers in the second round, then added another CB, Elijah Jones, in the third round, before selecting safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the fourth.

Even if more than one of those players pans out in the long term, it’s hard to imagine them turning around the Arizona defense overnight.

Arizona Cardinals 2024 Best Bets

Arizona win total under: 6.5 (best odds: +130 at bet365)

Big-picture, the Cardinals might be moving in the right direction after taking a total of 11 first-, second- and third-rounders in their last two drafts (including four third-rounders in this year’s draft).

But those extra picks are unlikely to make much of a difference in 2023.

The NFC West is a tough place for a roster with this many defensive issues, and it doesn’t help that the Cardinals also have to face the AFC East and NFC North outside of their division.

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