Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson picked by Arizona with sixth pick in NFL draft
Bill RabinowitzParis Johnson Jr. became the highest-drafted Ohio State offensive tackle in 26 years when the Arizona Cardinals selected the junior with the sxith pick of the NFL draft Thursday night.
Orlando Pace was the No. 1 overall pick in 1997 by the St. Louis Rams. Since then, Taylor Decker, the 16th pick of the 2016 draft by Detroit, is the only Buckeye first-round offensive tackle.
Arizona had the third overall pick but traded it to Houston, which had the 12th pick. The Cardinals then moved up to sixth in a trade with Detroit to take Johnson, who will be tasked with protecting the blind side of 2019 No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray.
"They'll be getting a guy that is violent, fast and physical," Johnson said. "Those are the three rules in my game every time I step on the field. They're getting a great teammate that wants to take care of my quarterback."
Johnson was the second Buckeye taken Thursday. Quarterback C.J. Stroud went to Houston with the second pick. It was the fourth time in OSU history that two Buckeyes were taken among the first six overall draft picks.
From the time he arrived at Ohio State from Cincinnati as a five-star recruit ranked the No. 9 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings in 2020, stardom was expected of Johnson.
He delivered. He started as a sophomore at right guard before moving to his more natural left tackle spot last year.
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The transition to tackle wasn’t seamless. Late in this year’s spring practice, Day referenced Johnson when asked about the current Buckeye tackles' struggles.
“If you rewind it a year, and I was sitting up and we were asking about Paris at left tackle, I'd be concerned. I was,” Day said. “He came a long way.”
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Johnson said he worked diligently in the offseason, often working with graduate assistant Mike Sollenne, to refine his skills.
Johnson was nearly flawless in protecting C.J. Stroud’s blind side last year, earning consensus All-American honors.
He’s nimble for someone 6-foot-6 and 313 pounds and plays with a mean streak.
“Paris is an elite athlete,” Ohio State center Luke Wypler said at the NFL combine. “For his size, the way he's always able to move, sometimes when you're watching film and it's like his leg is on the ground, he's bent over backwards and he's able to recover and finish a block. That’s just not normal.”
Johnson graduated in three years as an OSU Scholar-Athlete and is active in the philanthropic foundation he started in high school.
“Talk about a well-rounded young man who’s also very, very talented,” Day said on ESPN before the draft Thursday. “He sat on my couch during the recruiting process and said, ‘I want to continue to build my foundation. I want to graduate in three years. I want to be the first tackle taken in the draft.’ Look at how quickly all those things happened.
“He’s only played one year at left tackle so this is a guy with a really high ceiling. He’s going to go to a franchise and be somebody they can count on at left tackle for the next decade.”
Johnson's father was a fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in 1999 as a safety out of Miami University. Paris Johnson Sr. did not play a game for the Cardinals. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury. He was cut the next preseason.
"I told the coaches I want to finish what my dad couldn't," Johnson said in his introductory press conference with the Cardinals. "I want to finish what he started as the original Paris Johnson."