Arizona Cardinals logo Jul 30, 2021; Glendale, AZ, USA; A painter works on the details of the Arizona Cardinals logo on State Farm Stadium during training camp. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

When the face of your franchise is asking for help or lobbying for a player to be drafted, that usually holds some weight. However, in the case of Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, it has not. Murray has previously lobbied for the organization to draft an offensive lineman with their first-round pick in years past but to no avail.

Perhaps there is a new regime at the helm in Arizona that could change. According to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, the word in the Cardinals’ building is that Murray likes Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson, Jr. a lot. As the 2023 NFL Draft inches closer, Johnson to the Cardinals has begun to pick up some steam.

And the Cardinals may want to listen to their quarterback. In the past, according to Warren Sharp, Murray has lobbied the Cardinals to draft an offensive lineman as recently as 2021. Rather than select Creed Humphrey — a Pro Bowler and Second-Team All-Pro in 2022 — the Cardinals opted to draft linebacker Zaven Collins and wide receiver, Rondale Moore.

In 2020, Murray reportedly lobbied for the Cardinals to draft an offensive lineman. The Cardinals passed on the opportunity to draft one of Tristan Wirfs (Murray’s preferred choice), Mehki Becton or Jedrick Wills, Jr., instead opting to take Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons.

The Cardinals have had 10 picks in the first four rounds in the last three years and have selected one offensive lineman: Josh Jones. The team’s decision to prioritize defensive selections over the development of Murray has shown in the results on the field, as laid out by Sharp.

“The last two years combined their defense has ranked 28th in success rate & 29th in first down rate,” wrote Sharp. “Meanwhile, over that same span, their offensive line had the #1 most false starts (51) and #3 most offensive holding penalties (49) of any team in the NFL.”

Those numbers are horrifyingly bad and the reactions to the horrible Cardinals news on social media were even worse.

[Mike Garafolo, Warren Sharp]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.