Arizona

Cardinals

The Arizona coaching staff, Venerable said, “loves” Conner and his tough running and veteran leadership. “The best version of this offense last year ran through [Conner],” Venerable said during an interview with Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter. “James Conner is one of their best players.” Venerable suggested Michael Carter could mix in behind Conner, rather than rookie RB Trey Benson functioning as the clear RB2. Benson, the 66th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is considered an explosive back, though he never had more than 20 rushing attempts in a single game during his college career. We would expect Benson to be the Cardinals’ lead back should the 29-year-old Conner once again miss time with injury in 2024.

The Cardinals selected Robinson with the No. 27 overall pick in this year’s draft in hopes of bolstering their defensive front. Robinson exploded for 14 TFLs and 8.5 sacks in his final season at Missouri and was named First-team All-SEC for his efforts. He has a chance help improve a defensive unit that allowed the second-most points per game and the eighth most yards per game in 2023.

Harrison’s four-year deal is reportedly worth $35.3 million total, $22.5 million guaranteed and features a fifth-year option, per Spotrac. Harrison is the first of the top four players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft to sign a rookie contract. Underdog Fantasy drafters are selecting Harrison with a 2.03, WR9 ADP. He is expected to command a significant target share in the Cardinals’ passing offense.

Playing on the right side will be veteran Jonah Williams, who joined the Cardinals this offseason after four seasons with the Bengals. Williams, who has experience at left tackle, played right tackle for the Bengals in 2023 after the team brought in Orlando Brown to better secure Joe Burrow’s blind side. Moving Johnson to left tackle is a move that was expected to happen at some point after the team selected him with the No. 6 pick in last year’s draft. Johnson started all 17 games at right tackle last season, allowing eight sacks on 42 pressures while earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 64.2. the former Ohio State Buckeye will have added responsibilities this season, but should be viewed as the best man for the job after Williams struggled from the left side his first three years in the league.

Johnson announcing his retirement is more of a formality than him actually walking away from the game. The do-it-all back who flirted with a 1,000-plus rushing and receiving yard season back in 2016 didn’t play a snap of football in 2023 and spent much of 2022 as a free agent before being signed to the Saints practice squad and suiting up for five games over the final three months of the season. When he was at his peak, Johnson was one of the best running backs in football — both real and fantasy. He was a key part of the disastrous 2020 offseason trade orchestrated by Bill O’Brien that sent DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals and proved to already be past his prime by the time he arrived in Houston as a 29-year-old running back. Johnson retires, having amassed 6,876 yards from scrimmage and 57 total touchdowns.

Jones visited with several teams, including the Titans, Chiefs, and Cowboys, before ultimately joining the Cardinals. He can reportedly earn up to $4.25 million on his deal. The former second-round pick was released by the Jaguars earlier this month after the team drafted LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round but has been a coveted receiver on the open market. When he was at his best, Jones turned in an 82-823-5 season with the Jaguars in 2022, but injuries limited him to just nine games and a line of 34-321-2 in 2023. Playing primarily as an outside receiver, Jones should have no trouble earning a role opposite rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. Second-year receiver Michael Wilson could also challenge Jones for snaps, but the rest of the receiver room is relatively thin in Arizona. Jones could have some WR4 upside in PPR leagues if the snaps and targets are there.

Tagovailoa already had a short stint with the Seahawks but was let go after a few days. Now, the former Maryland Terp will have a chance to earn a spot with the Cardinals. The younger brother of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Tagovailoa enters the league with a fraction of the NFL pedigree as Tua. Like Tua, Taulia also spent time at Alabama but transferred to Maryland ahead of the 2020 season, where he went on to start 37 games for the Terps from 2021 through 2023. An undersized prospect (5’11/208) who is prone to turnovers, Tagovailoa didn’t earn an invite to the combine and may not be long for the NFL, but may get a few more shots to stick on a roster in the coming months.

The former first-round linebacker heads into the final season of his rookie contract potentially playing for his next deal. Collins was once a fixture in the Cardinals’ defense but saw his snap rate almost cut in half in 2023, the first season with head coach Jonathan Gannon and his unique 3-4, shallow two-high scheme. Collins’ potential departure after the 2024 season could open up additional snaps for 2023 second-round linebacker BJ Ojulari.

Murphy (6'4/309) was a mainstay on the defensive front in Chapel Hill, starting every single game after his freshman year. The Tar Heels relied on Murphy’s mass and staying power to deploy a fast defense around him. He is constantly aware of his body leverage and utilizes his hands well to maintain control of his gap. Although is not a particularly urgent athlete and won’t gain penetration easily, his strength allows him to be a consistent pocket pusher. It is probably best to keep his responsibilities to a single gap, as he can really be pushed around by blockers when asked to move laterally. If he manages to get off blocks, Murphy has a decent pursuit effort, albeit with limited athleticism (52nd% RAS). Murphy’s role at the next level will probably be as an early-down run stopper from the three tech whose primary responsibility is to free up space to simplify the decisions made at the second level.

The deal includes $255,000 in guarantees, suggesting Worthy has a decent shot of making the team this summer. Weaver (6’0/169) strung together three productive seasons from 2021-2023 to close out his five-year career, and went for 68-908-4 last season – his first and only year at Colorado. Weaver has ideal height for an outside receiver but a very slender frame. He’s an explosive receiver with 4.47 speed and he dominated the vertical and broad jumps at Colorado’s pro day, but Weaver will need to prove he can overcome more physical play from NFL corners with significant size advantages.