Computer updates Cardinals' projected win total

The Arizona Cardinals took a major risk prior to the start of the 2019 season, hiring Kliff Kingsbury (who had just been fired by Texas Tech after posting a 35-40 record over six seasons) to be their new head coach. Armed with the No. 1 overall pick, Arizona knew it'd need to tailor an offense around presumptive No. 1 pick Kyler Murray and decided after an interview that Kingsbury's run-and-shoot offense was the way to do it.

And even after a 5-10-1 record in their first year under Kingsbury, the Cardinals saw enough positives to decide that they were ready to make big moves during the 2020 NFL offseason. Now they're hoping to close the gap on the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams in the NFC West.

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Arizona began the new league year by making a huge splash, acquiring DeAndre Hopkins and a fourhth-round pick from the Houston Texans in exchange for David Johnson, a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2020. Now Murray is equipped with one of the league's best wide receivers and Kingsbury has an offensive core that he can build around.

However, the Cardinals didn't stop there. They also bolstered their defense in free agency by signing defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, defensive end Devon Kennard and outside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell. With Chandler Jones already established as the franchise cornerstone on that side of the ball, that trio of signings should help rapidly improve an Arizona defense that struggled in 2019.

As they look ahead to the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cardinals will have to focus on continuing to upgrade their defense, particularly a secondary that was largely complicit in Arizona ranking 32nd in the NFL in pass defense. They'll also look to upgrade an offensive line that gave up 50 sacks in 2019.

Now that they have an exciting young franchise quarterback and one of the best wide receiving corps in the NFL (Hopkins joins Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald), the Cardinals have an opportunity under Kingsbury to have one of the most electrifying offenses in the league. If they can get improved play up front and can use the draft to continue overhauling that defense, they're poised to take a major step forward and the SportsLine Projection Model shows them doing exactly that in its 10,000 simulations of the 2020 NFL schedule.

The Cardinals win an average of 7.4 games in simulations and makes the postseason 23.2 percent of the time. That is a significant jump from the 6.6 projected wins the model predicted prior to the start of free agency. Meanwhile, William Hill Sportsbook currently lists the Cardinals at 60-1 to win the 2021 Super Bowl, which are unfortunately still tied for eight-worst odds in the NFL.