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The Arizona Wildcats are having one of the best offseasons in the Big 12, according to ESPN’s Eli Lederman, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg.
Taking a look at the Power Four conferences and Notre Dame, Arizona found itself ranked third in the Big 12 despite starting defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson heading to the NFL.
What went wrong: The Wildcats have enjoyed a relatively smooth offseason since breaking through with a 9-4 run in Brennan’s second season. They knew they’d need to replace four NFL draft picks in the secondary in Stukes, Johnson, Smith and Michael Dansby, and 10 more starters who graduated, but there was enough trust in the depth they’re developing that this year’s team did not require a portal-heavy overhaul.
On the flip side, the Wildcats were able to snag some top talent in wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III, tight end Cole Rusk and safety Cam Chapa. Other incoming options include recruits Prince Williams, quarterback Oscar Rios and wide receiver R.J. Mosley.
There’s also the return of quarterback Noah Fifita for Arizona to lean on.
What went right: Quarterback Noah Fifita returns for his fourth season as the Wildcats’ starter and is 829 yards away from becoming the program’s all-time leading passer. Brennan said he believes Fifita should be a Heisman contender this season.
In 13 games last year, Fifita completed 64.3% of his throws for 3,228 yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions. He added another three scores on the ground.
The ESPN analysts also pinpointed pass rusher Tre Smith, linebacker Taye Brown and cornerback Jay’Vion Cole as key cogs to Danny Gonzales’ defense.
Coming in with the seventh-best offseason among Big 12 teams was ASU.
Among the biggest moves referenced for the Sun Devils was the retention of head coach Kenny Dillingham following all the Michigan chatter earlier this offseason.
Biggest coaching move: Arizona State retained coach Kenny Dillingham with an enhanced contract and further commitments to the program after he was linked to vacancies at LSU and Michigan. Dillingham again kept the core of his staff together, as coordinators Marcus Arroyo (offense) and Brian Ward (defense) are back.
ESPN’s analysts also like what ASU did from a talent acquisition standpoint, highlighted by former Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley and signal-calling recruit Jake Fette. Wide receivers Reed Harris and Omarion Miller were also big gets.
The more talent, the better for the Sun Devils, who have to make up for plenty of departures this offseason.
What went wrong: Arizona State returns only three of the 25 players who started six or more games last season. The program is working to replace 18 starters who graduated or declared for the draft plus four more — Leavitt (LSU), running back Raleek Brown (Texas), tackle Josh Atkins (Missouri) and defensive back Javan Robinson (Wisconsin) — who moved on via the transfer portal.
Texas Tech took home the top offseason honors for the Big 12, though one of the Red Raiders’ key additions — quarterback Brendan Sorsby — is under NCAA investigation and seeking treatment for a gambling addiction.
A lot of quarterback smoke surrounding the Arizona Cardinals this offseason centered on prospect Ty Simpson. Now, it’s of the Aaron Rodgers variety.
The veteran remains unsigned following last month’s draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers still feel like the most likely landing spot, though no deal is in place.
That’s left many to speculate where Rodgers could end up outside of Pittsburgh, if not just calling it a career altogether.
That’s where Arizona comes in.
It’s no shock the Cardinals are a team being floated around. They currently employ Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator in Nathaniel Hackett. And it was clear during Hackett’s introductory press conference just how highly he thinks of Rodgers and the lessons learned from working alongside him.
The brother of one of Rodgers’ Green Bay head coaches holds the same position in Arizona, with Mike LaFleur taking over this offseason.
There’s the fact the Cardinals’ starting quarterback situation remains up in the air. Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne also added to the mix with his social media post on Tuesday.
“@AaronRodgers12 come on, we’re waiting on you,” Bourne said.
Would Rodgers get more butts in the seats? Sure, especially with all the Packers fans who call Arizona home. Getting another chance to see a Green Bay great lace them up might be too good to pass up. He would also give the transplant Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings fans someone to openly cheer against any given Cardinals home game.
The added entertainment value attached to just about every game and press conference throughout 2026 would be there, too.
That, however, is just about where the benefits of bringing him in stop.
In no way should the Cardinals consider a Rodgers pairing.
It would be absolutely counterproductive for where this team stands at quarterback.
Arizona just burned a third-round pick on Carson Beck and must see what it has in the young quarterback before season’s end. That’s not a couple of games, either. There needs to be a solid amount of tape to sift through to properly determine if Beck can be Arizona’s next franchise quarterback or if the Cardinals need to take a first-round swing in 2027.
Signing Rodgers would just about eliminate that thinking. If the veteran is adding another season to his NFL resume, it won’t be as a backup. Any team hitching its wagon to the veteran knows that.
And how much more of an upgrade are we really talking about here?
This isn’t the Rodgers of old. In 16 starts for the Steelers last year, he completed 65.7% of his throws for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
For comparison, Brissett completed 65.1% of his throws for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns to eight picks across 12 starts. From a statistical standpoint, there wasn’t much difference between the two.
Even going the Gardner Minshew route doesn’t feel like that much of a gap given where Rodgers currently stands.
And again, Beck will need to see the field at some point in 2026. Not doing so would be negligent.
So why even consider the move?
Unless general manager Monti Ossenfort believes Rodgers can successfully help him thread the needle of putting a competitive team on the field to keep his job while still losing enough to be in a good draft spot in 2027, this is a nonstarter.
