The Arizona Cardinals are under new management this offseason. General manager Steve Kiem stepped down and was replaced by Monti Ossenfort. Kliff Kingsbury was fired as head coach and replaced by Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Ossenfort and Gannon have their work cut out for them in Arizona. They are working with arguably the least talented roster in the NFL and now have to navigate a trade request from one of their best players, safety Budda Baker.
While they have a lengthy to-do list, likely near the top of it is getting Kyler Murray on track. The Cardinals will go as far as Murray can take them after he signed a massive $231 million extension. Alas, there is only so much a quarterback can do without help around him.
Murray’s status for the start of the season is up in the air as he is rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered in Week 14 against the New England Patriots. While his escapability is excellent, it would behoove the Cardinals to improve his protection.
It should come as no surprise then that Murray is lobbying the Cardinals to use their first-round pick on an offensive lineman. If it were up to Murray, the selection would be Ohio State left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
That update comes via Warren Sharp on Twitter. According to Sharp, this isn’t the first time that Murray has urged the franchise to bolster the offensive line. He did so in 2021 when Creed Humphrey was on the board and in 2020 when Tristan Wirfs was available. Both of those players have found plenty of success early in their careers and Arizona could have benefitted as well having better protection for Murray the last few years.
Gannon has a defensive background, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Cardinals continued their recent trend of targeting players on that side of the ball. However, if they want any chance of turning things around quickly, putting Murray in the best position to succeed is paramount.
While the No. 3 overall pick may be a slight reach for Johnson, he is regarded as the only true left tackle prospect that could be inserted into the lineup on Day 1. That is something that the Cardinals need and if they can find a team to make a trade down with, he will be squarely in play.
