The Cardinals are turning the offense over to Matt LaFleur and we can expect another off-shoot of the Shanahan coaching tree which means heavy play-action from under center, presnap motion and a more diverse look to the Arizona offense in 2026.
Dave Richard has ranked all 18 new play-callers from worst for Fantasy to best, and we’re going team by team through his rankings to see how your perception of every key player should change before Fantasy football draft season. Up next at No. 4: Matt LaFleur and the Cardinals.
Who’s new?
The Cardinals smartly picked off Mike LaFleur from the Rams, giving them a head coach and playcaller with a lot of experience and knowledge of the entire NFC West. LaFleur was with Sean McVay for three years and previously with Kyle Shanahan for seven seasons. He was also the Jets’ playcaller in 2021-22. Packers coach Matt LaFleur is his older brother.
What’s expected this year?
Look for all the bells and whistles that come with the West Coast offense style that both Shanahan and McVay have run: Lots of shifts and motions pre-snap, a heavy emphasis on timing and route-running from the pass-catchers, and a lot of outside zone-scheme running. LaFleur might be a McVay/Shanahan disciple, but he wasn’t afraid to let his QBs rip it with the Jets, especially since he coached five different passers in two years. The average pass rate was 62.8% on a league-average pace. Running backs were definitely part of the passing plan (21.9% average target share) while tight ends were more dependent on who was at his disposal (19.7% target rate to Tyler Conklin in 2022).
Winners and losers for Fantasy
First-round pick Jeremiyah Love is expected to be the workhorse who can contribute on all three downs (LaFleur has reported as much). Specifically on outside zone runs, Love averaged 8.4 yards per rush with a 21.4% explosive rush rate at Notre Dame in 2025. Certainly lends optimism for what he can accomplish with the Cardinals, who won’t need a dominant O-line to pull off good outside zone blocking. Neither Tyler Allgeier nor James Conner offers the same kind of track record on those kinds of runs, and neither is as explosive. Also, LaFleur coordinated Breece Hall in his rookie year and led him to 16.4 PPR points per game on 14.1 touches per game and 4.4 targets per game. Love should be great. LaFleur worked closely with McVay over the past few seasons when the Rams were implementing more multiple-tight-end formations to take advantage of mismatches. Not that there was any doubt about Trey McBride playing a lot, but you can be sure he will be a focal point. Rams tight ends totaled 11 touchdowns last year, the same as McBride. His route versatility will only help him make plays. I’m not sure LaFleur’s arrival will magically unlock any Cardinals receiver, but both Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. should benefit from better plays and playcalls. Wilson’s size makes him a unique option, and he has surprisingly solid linear speed and change of direction, but he was routinely covered tightly, and he wasn’t elusive. Harrison has drawn a lot of extra coverage and has never been able to beat it, plus he’s not a burner. LaFleur will need to be very creative with both of these guys.
