The Arizona Cardinals’ new regime of general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon have their work cut out for them. The Cardinals have arguably the weakest roster in the NFL, but the new brain trust has to be happy about what they came away with in their first draft.
Entering the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 3 overall pick, the Cardinals ended up trading that selection to the Houston Texans. They added a 2024 first-rounder as the crown jewel of the return package.
Another piece of that deal, the No. 12 overall pick, ended up being traded to the Detroit Lions. Arizona used that pick, along with Nos. 34 and 168, to acquire Nos. 6 and 81 from the Lions. With the No. 6 overall pick, the Cardinals selected Ohio State offensive tackle, Paris Johnson Jr.
Ossenfort and Gannon wasted no time in beginning to revamp their team in the trenches. Johnson was arguably the best offensive tackle in this year’s draft class and should be an immediate contributor to the team.
Whether that comes at left tackle or right tackle is anyone’s guess at this moment. He received plenty of reps at both spots already this offseason, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, with left tackle D.J. Humphries rehabbing an injury to his back and right tackle Kelvin Beachum not present for the voluntary portion of the offseason workouts.
Despite potentially being in a training camp battle with him, Humphries liked what he saw from the former Buckeye. He was complimentary of the work ethic that Johnson possesses and how much of a student of the game he is.
“I like him a lot, man. He’s a student. He got a lot of student to him,” Humphries said. “He’s not a young hunk that’s kind of like, ‘I got this figured out. You old guys get out the way and hold my water.’ He doesn’t have any of that to him. He’s very like, ‘I want to know, am I doing this right? How can I do this better? How do you do this? What are you thinking about when you’re doing this?'”
You can be sure that Johnson will be in the lineup one way or another as a rookie. As Humphries pointed out, he is doing all the right things in terms of learning the position and improving himself so that he can succeed when in the starting lineup.
Whether it is at left or right tackle, Johnson is the future of the Cardinals’ offensive line. He will hopefully be the anchor to that unit for years to come in the trenches as Ossenfort and Gannon work in tandem to get the franchise back on track.
