Arizona Cardinals a little better in initial 2020 NFL Power Rankings

A year later and things are a bit better for the Arizona Cardinals.

After being at the bottom of nearly every set of NFL Power Rankings heading into the 2019 season, the Cardinals now sit outside of the top 20, but have moved up steadily.

ESPN dropped their way to early 2020 NFL Power Rankings and the Cardinals start off a bit higher than we may have expected from the national media:

23. Arizona Cardinals

2019 record: 5-10-1

Reason for optimism: Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. The first-year coach orchestrated an offensive revival in 2019, laying the foundation for annual growth in a scheme that evolved and improved seemingly every week. By the end of the season, there was widespread optimism in the Cardinals’ locker room because of how well the offense was playing. At one point, quarterback Kyler Murray said it was tough to watch Arizona’s early-season games. Kingsbury’s version of the famous Air Raid was run-heavy in 2019 and an 180-degree transformation from the offense he envisioned when he took the job last January. That development bodes well for Arizona’s offensive productivity in 2020. — Josh Weinfuss

While 23 is still in the bottom third of the NFL, it is a move up from being completely overlooked heading into 2019.

The Cardinals have some believers and they will continue to grow if they can build on their successes from 2019.