Is the Cardinals offense primed to emerge as the surprise of the NFC West this season?
Here is a look at how projected starters at the offensive skill positions in the NFC West compare with regard to their 2024 PFF grades.
QB:
- SFO: Brock Purdy —- 82.4
- ARI: Kyler Murray —- 82.1
- SEA: Sam Darnold —- 80.7
- LAR: Matthew Stafford —- 74.7
RB:
- ARI: James Conner —- 90.4
- SEA: Kenneth Walker III —- 88.5
- LAR: Christian McCaffrey —- 71.3
- SFO: Kyren Williams —- 69.1
TE:
- SFO: George Kittle —- 92.1
- ARI: Trey McBride —- 86.8
- LAR: Tyler Higbee —- 76.4
- SEA: Noah Fant —- 66.0
WR-1:
- LAR: Puka Nacua —- 92.5
- SEA: Jaxon Smith-Njigba —- 81.0
- ARI: Marvin Harrison Jr. —- 77.7
- SFO: Brandon Aiyuk —- 74.6
WR-2:
- SFO: Jauan Jennings —- 83.1
- SEA: Cooper Kupp —- 71.4
- LAR: Davante Adams —- 64.4
- ARI: Michael Wilson —- 62.9
Commentary:
By applying my customary point tally where each team gets 4 points for #1s, 3 points for #2s, 2 points for #3s and 1 point for #4s, here are the results:
Total Position Points:
- SFO —- 14
- ARI —- 13
- LAR, SEA —- 12
2024 Offensive PFF Team Rankings:
Overall:
- SFO —- 5
- ARI —- 7
- LAR —- 9
- SEA —- 16
Passing:
- SEA —- 7
- ARI —- 8
- LAR —- 19
- SFO —- 20
Rushing:
- SEA —- 6
- ARI —- 9
- SFO —- 13
- LAR —- 22
Receiving:
- LAR —- 3
- SFO —- 6
- SEA —- 8
- ARI —- 11
Pass Blocking:
- ARI —- 4
- SFO —- 11
- SEA —- 26
- LAR —- 30
Run Blocking:
- SF0 —- 3
- LAR —- 6
- ARI —- 14
- SEA —- 24
Offensive Rankings Team Points:
- ARI —- 18
- SFO —- 17
- SEA —- 14
- LAR —- 13
Commentary:
It’s remarkable to think of how close all 4 offenses in the NFC West were in terms of production and offensive efficiency, last season. 3 of 4 NFC West offenses in PFF’s overall Top 10. All 4 NFC West receiving rankings in the top 11.
Check out the 2024 Offensive NFC West DVOA rankings:
- SFO —- 9
- LAR —- 10
- ARI —- 11
- SEA —- 18
Get this —- because Klint Kubiak is now the OC in SEA, all 4 offenses in the NFC West are run-heavy, play-action oriented schemes. The major difference for the Cardinals has been this:
2024 NFC West Offenses —- use of motion percentages:
- SFO —- 80.3%
- LAR —- 78.6%
- SEA —- 73.0%
- ARI —- 56.6%
Yet, as we have reported and discussed during OTAs, the Cardinals’ 2025 offense is planning to increase their use of motion, perhaps very significantly.
“Hope is a good thing, Red.”
What potentially gives the Cardinals’ 2025 offense a strong reason for hope this season:
2025 NFC West Offenses average age of starting skill players:
- ARI —- 25.6
- SEA —- 27.4
- SFO —- 27.8
- LAR —- 30.8
It’s an 18-game season, Birdgang. If the Cardinals can stay healthy and take advantage of their youthful talents who have been working so diligently to climb the NFL ladder at their positions, then they could emerge as the offensive surprise of the division.
Conclusion:
While we can all agree that PFF numbers are discussion starters, when one looks at all of the data here, the Cardinals’ offense may be better than some think. Perhaps even significantly better than some fans and pundits, at this point, are apt to believe.