In the process of rebuilding the Arizona Cardinals from the husk left over at the end of the Steve Keim-era, general manager Monti Ossenfort has poured his energies into building a talented, young team through the draft.

The most critical component of that process could well be the twelve player class from 2024 that is now entering their second year in the NFL.

Much is made every offseason of the need for second year players to take a “leap” forward in their play and it is a fairly well-documented and accepted reality that the most noticeable difference in quality of play for many athletes occurs between their rookie and second years as they are still in their athletic prime but getting more used to the speed of the professional game.

From the mentioned 2024 draft class there are four players in particular who will need to put forth higher quality play this season for the Cardinals to have success as a team.

1. WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

The biggest name, and the one who entered his rookie year with the highest expectations, is undoubtedly Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison Jr. was immediately thrown to the wolves as a young player as the clear cut No. 1 receiver for the Cardinals and the inherent pressure of that designation clearly impacted him in some capacity and opposing defenses did not hold off at all.

As a superstar receiver from Ohio State he entered the league with a standing reputation and a star pedigree as the son of Colts legend Marvin Harrison.

It is important to note that Harrison Jr.’s rookie season was not bad, it just fell short of what were admittedly unfair expectations for a player’s first year as a pro.

Still, the point remains that he was drafted to be a star and the bedrock of the Cardinals passing game. If the team truly wants to improve that area of their offense, and they absolutely must to have sustained success in 2025 a lot of that runs through the anticipated improvement of Harrison Jr.

2. DE Darius Robinson

The second of the Cardinals first-round picks in 2024, Darius Robinson is starting this season in a different place than the other players on this list.

Last season was a rough one for Robinson. Dealing with an injury kept him off the field the majority of his rookie year, which compounded with the unexpected passing of his mother, led to low-impact output from the 27th overall pick.

Coaches have spoken about 2025 as a sort of extension of Robinson’s rookie year with the added benefit that he has seen an NFL field and already has a feel for what the game is like at this level. This has raised expectations that his emergence in a full-time roll this season should be without many of the normal rookie growing pains.

Hopefully, there is truth to this because the Cardinals defensive line needs a player like Robinson who can emerge as a potential long-term solution and anchor that group. The team put a lot of resources into that area in free agency by bringing in Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, but as older vets they will not be around forever.

A successful season from Robinson does not necessarily require a gaudy stat line but he does need to establish himself this year as a keystone of the Cardinals defensive line.

3. CB Max Melton

The loss of Sean Murphy-Bunting for the season makes the improvement of Max Melton even more imperative for the overall success of the Cardinals secondary.

Melton got a lot of playing time as a rookie, coming in and out of the lineup but appearing in all 17 games. In those appearances he exhibited the gamut of what is expected out of rookie cornerbacks adjusting to the NFL but he finished with a very respectable 51 tackles and 5 passes defensed.

Now, Melton looks to be slotted in for a starting role on the outside opposite of rookie Will Johnson. That is a lot of pressure for two very young players at what is arguably the toughest position in football outside of quarterback.

Thankfully, slot corner Garrett Williams has emerged as one of the truly elite players in the league at that spot but success for Arizona’s defense will require high level play out of Melton who will hopefully be able to not only take a big step forward in his own development but help out the young Johnson on the other side.

4. Isaiah Adams

The Cardinals did not re-sign Will Hernandez this offseason (as of this writing) which does leave a question mark at starting right guard.

After Hernandez’s injury in 2024, then rookie Isaiah Adams found himself on the field quite a bit finishing the year with over 400 snaps. In those early appearances there were some evident issues with his play, most notably in pass protection that slowly did improve throughout the year.

Now, ahead of 2025 it seems like the starting right guard spot is Adams’ to lose as coaches have been praising his offseason training, noting his improved strength and dedication to improving on his weaknesses.

With the other four starting offensive line spots filled by veterans who been around the block, the biggest question for the position group is at right guard and it is imperative for the success of that unit that Adams, the supposed frontrunner for that spot, grows tremendously from year one to year two.