Arizona Cardinals fall after free agency in new NFL power rankings
Arizona Cardinals fall after free agency in new NFL power rankings Despite a clearly improved roster, the Cardinals fell in new NFL.com power rankings.
The Arizona Cardinals have an improved roster after a week of NFL free agency in 2025. It is clear they have an improved team, between offseason additions and the expected return of other players who were injured.
But where do they rank in the NFL compared to other teams?
NFL.com's Eric Edholm put together post-free agency power rankings and the world champion Philadelphia Eagles are at the top, where perhaps they belong.
But the Arizona Cardinals, despite their roster improvements, fell two spots from No. 17 overall to No. 19, the lowest mark in the NFC West.
The Cardinals have been the quietest team in the NFC West -- by far -- at least in terms of buzz. The Seahawks have undergone a massive overhaul, the 49ers have lost a ton of big contributors, and the Rams have made major changes at receiver. Arizona's moves have paled in comparison, volume-wise. But there's hope that Josh Sweat can become a top pass rusher and a strong complement to Darius Robinson, Baron Browning and new nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. It's an interesting little group the Cards are putting together there. Arizona has intrigued me the past few seasons, but with this incarnation, I'm not quite there yet. And I'd have no problem with this team going offensive line in Round 1 and leaning even more into the run game next season.
The Cardinals have been the quietest team in the NFC West -- by far -- at least in terms of buzz. The Seahawks have undergone a massive overhaul, the 49ers have lost a ton of big contributors, and the Rams have made major changes at receiver. Arizona's moves have paled in comparison, volume-wise. But there's hope that Josh Sweat can become a top pass rusher and a strong complement to Darius Robinson, Baron Browning and new nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. It's an interesting little group the Cards are putting together there. Arizona has intrigued me the past few seasons, but with this incarnation, I'm not quite there yet. And I'd have no problem with this team going offensive line in Round 1 and leaning even more into the run game next season.
Have the Cardinals been the quietest? Sure, the Seahawks made bigger-name moves, adding Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp, while the Rams added Davante Adams. Perhaps the 49ers' offseason has been louder because of the losses.
But the Cardinals have an incredibly improved defensive front, which was their biggest weakness by far.
Should they be ranked the lowest in the NFC West? It's understandable. They were ahead of everyone except the 49ers at the end of the season, but people still believe San Francisco is a competitor in the conference.
So it would appear that, while the Cardinals are an improved team, they are not as improved as other teams around the league.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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