Top five most valuable people for Arizona Cardinals in 2024

The Arizona Cardinals are entering Year 2 of the tenure of general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon. They are trying to rebound from a dismal four-win season in 2023.

The Cardinals have some intriguing players and young talent who might help give them a lift, but there are a handful of people in particular who will make or break their season.

Here are the franchise's five most valuable people for 2024.

5. Defensive back Budda Baker

Baker is the heart and soul of the Cardinals defense and arguably the best player in that group. He has been named to five straight Pro Bowls and is the one proven impact player they have on that side of the ball. He is also entering the final year of his contract and would like to have a new deal with the team. The question is whether or not the two sides can make it work. As long as he remains in a Cardinals uniform, however, the team will need him to be a game-changing player on defense.

4. Offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Johnson is set to take over as the Cardinals' starting left tackle after spending his rookie season on the right side. There are few positions in the NFL where a player can be more impactful than a good left tackle, and the pressure is going to be on Johnson to protect Kyler Murray's blindside and help drive the team's running game. If he becomes a pillar on the line, that dramatically changes everything for the offense.

3. General manager Monti Ossenfort

A good general manager is always a key part of any organization, and that is especially true when it comes to a team going through a rebuild. Ossenfort has already made a couple of potential franchise-altering draft picks and moves in his first two years, and he has some big decisions to make in the near future. Is Murray the guy to be Arizona's franchise quarterback? What does he do with Baker's contract situation? Does he trade him? Big decisions that will have long-lasting impacts are forthcoming.

2. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

There was no bigger need for the Cardinals this offseason than finding a No. 1, big-play wide receiver. Marquise "Hollywood" Brown never fully panned out in that role and then he left as a free agent this offseason. The Cardinals were in a prime position to add a potential top-tier receiver by having the No. 4 pick in one of the deepest wide receiver drafts in recent memory, and they came away with a consensus top receiver in the draft in Harrison. He has already wowed people in training camp and has a chance to give the Cardinals something they have been lacking in their offense: big-play ability.

1. Quarterback Kyler Murray

Nothing changes a franchise more than a quarterback, and this feels like a make-or-break year for Murray with the Cardinals. They need him to not only succeed; they need him to play like a franchise quarterback.

That's not only because they are paying him like one, but because they have no other good option at the moment and do not really have an out in his deal until after the 2027 season. The potential dead money up until that point is outrageous over the next couple of years (dumping him prior to 2025 would result in over $60 million in dead money for that season ). He should be fully recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the first half of the 2023 season and he has a couple of potential impact targets on Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride. Murray needs a big year.