Now that the Arizona Cardinals landed the player they apparently coveted the most during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in former Ohio State offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr., just where exactly do they plan to use him during the upcoming season?
Will the 6-foot-6, 310-pound earth mover begin his NFL career as Arizona’s starting left guard, where there just happens to be a huge hole? Could they kick him out to right tackle and have him start ahead of veteran Kelvin Beachum? Would they even dare consider having him compete with team captain DJ Humphries for the starting left tackle job, where Humphries started all 16 games he played from 2019 through 2021?
If you were looking for any concrete answers, coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing weren’t giving any when they met with reporters on Tuesday at the team’s Tempe training facility along with defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
“Yeah, we’ll figure that out,” Gannon said. “… He’s obviously played outside and inside. We’ve just got to get him on the grass and see where he fits in with the other guys. I’m very comfortable with what he’s put on tape of playing a lot of different spots on that offensive line, so we’ll put the best guys out there, the best five, and see how we can make the gel together and hopefully move people in the run game and keep the quarterback upright in the passing game.”
Petzing declined to get specific as well, saying, “We’re going to get our best five out there. I think his versatility is a big part of it, but I don’t think we’re going to say, ‘Hey, it’s got to be here’ or ‘It’s got to be there.’ We’re working through that here this spring and into training camp.”
Unless Gannon or Petzing drop some hints or say something definitive about their exact plans for Johnson when the Cardinals resume offseason workouts and mini camps, we might not learn where the sixth overall pick will line up until training camp begins in late July.
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After trading the No. 3 overall pick to the Houston Texans to move nine spots down to No. 12 for a boatload of other picks, only to then make a deal with the Detroit Lions to trade back up to No. 6 spot to make Johnson the first offensive lineman selected in the draft, General Manager Monti Ossenfort was not ready to even say if Johnson will be a Day 1 starter next season.
“We’ll see how that goes,” he said. “I don’t think we’re ready to name (starters). We have a few months to go before we play a game. We’re going to put our best five on the field and Paris will be worked at multiple spots just like everyone else is and we’ll see how that shakes out. Paris has versatility and we’ll work him in there and see where this ends up.”
It’s worth noting that when Johnson arrived at the Cardinals’ facility for his pre-draft private visit with the team, he ran into Kyler Murray and the quarterback pulled him aside, told him he wanted Johnson to block for him and asked if he could play right tackle.
“I just want to play. That’s all I want to do,” Johnson said during his introductory news conference. “I’ve expressed to Mr. Monti if I’ve got to play free safety, I will play free safety. You know what I mean? I am here to help the team win. It’s all about the team, right? When the team wins, every individual person wins.
“So, whether I’m at guard, whether I’m at tackle, on the right or left side, it doesn’t matter. They teach me how to snap, you get a 6-6 center. I’m going to rock out at it because that’s just what I want to do. It doesn’t really matter to me.”
Although Johnson is projected to eventually be the Cardinals’ long-term starter at left tackle once Humphries’ days with the organization are done — he turns 30 in December and has three more years remaining on a contract that jumps from $5.5 million in base salary this year to $15.7 million in both 2024 and 2025 – right tackle could be an interesting landing spot.
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Beachum was the only offensive lineman to start and play all 17 games for the Cardinals last season. However, he turns 34 next month and is entering his 12th yearth NFL season, and a bigger and more youthful Johnson could give him a run for his money if the starting job is up for grabs. Beachum signed a two-year contract extension this offseason, although it will only cost Arizona $1.1 million and $1.2 million in base salary, should he remain on the roster.
It remains to be seen how Murray feels about Beachum after the veteran lineman made some critical comments this offseason about the quarterback, which included saying Murray needs to “Be a man and grow up.”
“Kyler is his own individual, he’s his own person, he beats to his own drum, which has made him what he is today,” Beachum said during an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7-FM back in March. “But, at the end of the day, you have to be able to lead an entire organization, you’ve got to lead a team.”
Asked on Tuesday if Murray and Beachum have met personally to clarify things and get on the same page again moving forward, Gannon said, “Absolutely, 100 percent.”
That being what it is, it might make the most sense right now to let Johnson work exclusively at left guard and make him the starter there in 2023. Arizona lost veteran Justin Pugh to a torn ACL against Seattle last year in Week 6 and then went through a nearly endless series of replacements from Max Garcia, Cody Ford, Lecitus Smith and Rashaad Coward.
The Cardinals signed seven-year pro Elijah Wilkinson (6-4, 329) to a one-year deal as a free agent this season and he has experience at both tackle and guard. Marquis Hayes (6-5, 324), a seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma a year ago who started 37 games in college at left guard, is back after missing his entire rookie season with a knee injury. The team also claimed former SMU lineman Hayden Howerton (6-3, 300) off waivers from the New England Patriots in March and he can play all three interior positions.
But when an NFL team drafts a player with the sixth overall pick, that player almost always finds a place in the starting lineup as a rookie and Johnson is no different. Considering how Murray reportedly lobbied for the team to draft Johnson, it only makes more sense.
“For an established guy to reach out to a young guy and be like, ‘Man, I need you mad on this team, you’re an impact guy,’ for me, I’m going to play hard regardless,” Johnson said. , adding, “To play for a guy like that who’s already established, to reach out to a young guy, how do you not want to see him win? You want to keep him clean.”
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Murray is still rehabbing his way back from major knee surgery and isn’t expected to be ready to start the season, although there is no clear timeline for his return. Whenever he’s ready to play, though, Johnson should have the opportunity to already be entrenched with the starting five, wherever the Cardinals decide to use him.
Johnson, for one, can’t wait.
“Man, he’s a beast,” he said of Murray, the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowl selection. “… I love the hustle he plays with. I love the way he plays. I love the way he trusts his tackles to stay in the pocket when he needs to stay in the pocket. Yet again, if something were to break down, he fights to the finish and he believes that his tackles are going to keep playing to extend the play while he’s trying to move outside the pocket and get the right throw.
“He’s not afraid to put himself out there to make a play, you know? I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of the guys that protect him, so he doesn’t have to do it as often.”
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Where on OL can Cardinals make the best use of Paris Johnson Jr.?