The 2026 NFL Team Preview series rolls on with the Arizona Cardinals, and Stephie Smalls brought in the only person emotionally reckless enough for the assignment: Producer Ryan McKee.
On this episode of The Stephie Smalls Show, Stephie and Ryan break down a Cardinals team coming off a brutal 2025 season, but somehow not completely devoid of intrigue. Ryan arrives more optimistic than expected, which for a Cardinals fan means he has located the possibility of four wins and chosen to build a summer home there.
The conversation starts with Arizona’s offseason reset, including the end of the Kyler Murray era, the Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett quarterback situation, and the arrival of Michael LaFleur. They also dig into Nathaniel Hackett, which mostly becomes an archaeological dig for one positive thing to say about Nathaniel Hackett.
From a betting perspective, Stephie and Ryan examine the Cardinals’ 2026 win total, the over 3.5 wins, fewest-wins odds, the brutal schedule, team points futures and the possibility that Carson Beck starts more games than people expect. This is not exactly a Super Bowl preview. It is more like watching someone price-shop smoke detectors before buying a haunted house.
The fantasy football discussion is much happier. Trey McBride is treated like a quarterback-proof tight end, Jeremiah Love gets best ball love, Michael Wilson is circled as a late-round sleeper, and Marvin Harrison Jr. is discussed as a possible bounce-back value.
The Cardinals may be bad, but as Ryan and Stephie conclude, they have stuff. Frisky stuff. Dangerous stuff. Cardinals stuff.
