With the 2025 NFL regular season kicking off next Thursday in Philadelphia, ESPN ranked its top 100 players and three Arizona Cardinals were featured after none of them made the cut last year.
Tight end Trey McBride, who authored a breakout Year 3, was rated the highest at No. 44 while four-time All-Pro safety Budda Baker was No. 93 and quarterback Kyler Murray just made the list at No. 99.
McBride received higher favor than fellow tight end Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions (No. 83) but San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (No. 27) and Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers (No. 20) were bestowed a bit more love.
Despite not being the undisputed best at his position just yet, 10 ESPN NFL experts predicted 113 receptions, 1,088 yards and six receiving touchdowns for McBride. Though the predicted yardage total would be a slight regression from 2024 (1,146), McBride would set a single-season career mark for receptions (111 in 2024) and in touchdowns (three in 2023).
For Baker, his ESPN top-100 favorability is in major contrast to the NFL’s viewing of him (No. 34 on the NFL Top 100 list) but his impact is recognized nonetheless.
Seven safeties around the league ranked higher than Baker: Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin James Jr. (No. 89), Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. (No. 85), Atlanta Falcons’ Jessie Bates III (No. 62), Lions’ Kerby Joseph (No. 60), Green Bay Packers’ Xavier McKinney (No. 54), Lions’ Brian Branch (No. 51) and Baltimore Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton (No. 15).
The Lions having two at this position comes as no surprise as they had eight total players featured on the listing.
At 29, Baker is the oldest among safeties to make the cut, with James Jr. and Bates III the second-oldest of the bunch at 28.
He is predicted to register 137 total tackles, two interceptions and a sack. Last season, Baker had 164 tackles, two sacks and no interceptions. The 5-foot-10 safety hasn’t gotten a pick since Week 15 of the Cardinals’ 2022 campaign.
Trey McBride might improve, Kyler Murray expected to be at par
Murray eked into ESPN’s top 100 after returning from injury last year.
Brock Purdy of the NFC West rival 49ers just edged Murray out at No. 96 (significantly lower than No. 30 ranking in 2024) and Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford was No. 71 (21 spots higher than 2024) despite questions of his availability entering 2025.
The dual-threat signal caller is coming off a healthy year where he played all 17 regular season games for Arizona and threw for 3,851 yards and had 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He complemented that on the ground with 572 rushing yards (five touchdowns) on 78 carries.
The expectation is for Murray to more or less match these outputs in 2025, with ESPN projecting 3,865 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 597 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Four of the top-five NFL players were quarterbacks, as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes led the pack of Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen (No. 2), Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (No. 4) and Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow (No. 5).
The Cardinals will construct their initial 53-man roster by Tuesday at 1 p.m. as they prepare to face the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 7.