Cardinals tackle Paris Johnson wants quarterback Kyler Murray “to be able to do his thing” on the field this season and his performance will play a role in allowing that to happen.
Johnson is moving to left tackle after playing on the right side during his rookie season and the 2023 first-round pick is looking forward to being back where he played while at Ohio State. Johnson said he is particularly excited about passing plays with “protections that are a little bit longer” because he knows that doing his job on those plays make it a lot likelier that the Cardinals are going to make big gains.
“Halfway through the play where you’re locking him up and you just know that he can’t go anywhere, you start to smile a little bit. You’re like, ‘Oh dude, ball’s gone,’” Johnson said. “You know what I mean? Ball’s gone and it’s gonna be a touchdown, it’s going to be a huge gain. For me, that’s kinda the mindset you kinda have to have at the left tackle spot is that as soon as I win my rep, we’re going down the field so that’s just the mindset of how well I have to prepare.”
Earlier this offseason, Johnson talked about his goal of being the best tackle in the league and the Cardinals took him early because they think he has that kind of talent. Proving it at his new position will leave the Cardinals with an important foundational piece to build around on offense.
