NFL Arizona Cardinals Odds: Defense In-Depth Betting Analysis

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No team in North American professional sports has gone longer without a championship than the Arizona Cardinals. In 1947, they were the Chicago Cardinals and had even survived a season during World War II merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a shortage of available players. Since then, they have moved on to St. Louis and Phoenix. They’ve appeared in one Super Bowl, but they were victimized by a late comeback by those same Steelers. In 2021, it looked like the Cardinals were the best team in the NFL, guided by coach Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Kyler Murray, but they fell off the table just past the midway point and haven’t recovered since. Going into 2023, how should NFL betting enthusiasts approach the Cardinals? Let’s take a look at their defense.

NFL Betting News: In-Depth Analysis of the Arizona Cardinals Defense

The team will enter 2023 with a new head coach and general manager, as Kingsbury was shown the door and GM Steve Keim took a leave of absence for health reasons and ended up resigning. The new head coach is Jonathan Gannon, who was the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia last year; he guided the Eagles’ defense during their impressive Super Bowl run that ended up just short of victory, as the Kansas City Chiefs were able to do enough damage to Gannon’s scheme to get a win. Gannon is starting his first head coaching gig – and it cost the Cardinals draft pick compensation as they started their negotiations with Gannon before the official contact period had begun.

Several key players left during the off-season, as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr and defensive lineman Zach Allen went elsewhere via free agency. Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt retired, and safety Budda Baker, arguably the best defensive player left on the roster, has asked for a trade. He did come to the Arizona minicamp but did not take part in practice. With the most cap space of any of the 32 NFL teams, the Cardinals didn’t do much in free agency. They did add linebacker Kyzir White to a two-year deal worth $10 million. White ranked #33 among NFL linebackers last season according to Pro Football Focus’ grading system.

Bet on the Cardinals to Win!

In the draft, the Cardinals drafted five players on the defensive side of the ball. Each were chosen to fill a position of need, and each of them could contribute in 2023. One of these is B.J. Ojulari, who excelled as a pass rusher in college. He should start 2023 as part of a rotation but then should earn a full-time starting slot and could post as many as eight or nine sacks. Garrett Williams will be rehabbing a torn ACL, but once he’s back to full health, he could develop into one of the league’s shutdown corners. Owen Pappoe is another player who will enter the pass rush rotation, but he should be able to move past Krys Barnes and take a starting slot of his own. Kei’Trel Clark is more of a diamond in the rough and will likely start 2023 as part of the practice squad. Once we get past midseason, though, and it’s clear that the Cardinals aren’t going to the postseason, he should come up and get into the nickelback conversation. Finally, there’s defensive lineman Dante Stills; given the injury to Rashard Lawrence and the inconsistency of Leki Fotu, Stills will enter 2023 as part of the rotation and should get more and more time as the season goes by.

The most common win/loss total I’m seeing for the Cardinals is 4 ½. They play in a division that will have at least two tough teams (San Francisco and Seattle). They play the NFC East and the AFC North, which could leave them 1-7 or 2-6 in that stretch, so getting to five or six wins could be a real slog. They did set themselves up nicely for the 2024 draft by stockpiling picks, but this year, we will be watching their defense mature, and that process often involves making (and learning from) some big mistakes.

2023 Arizona Defense Positions