Cardinals' Paris Johnson Jr. discusses expectations with Marvin Harrison Jr.

Second-year offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. is among individuals within the Arizona Cardinals expecting big things from the team's offense after the club made Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. the fourth overall pick of this year's draft.

"Obviously, playing with the guys we have on this team, being able to have Marv as a weapon, I think it's just explosive," Johnson explained during Monday's edition of NFL Network's "The Insiders" program, as shared by Kevin Patra of the league's website. "I just love the guys we have on our offense, and I expect this offense to be one of the top in the country."

Much has been made this spring about how Arizona believes quarterback Kyler Murray will take a massive leap coming off his first full healthy offseason working with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and head coach Jonathan Gannon. At this time last year, Murray was still recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered in December 2022 that kept him from making his 2023 regular-season debut until November.

Johnson played alongside Harrison at Ohio State and indicated on Monday that the first-year pro has thus far been as advertised with the Cardinals.

"...That's one of the things I always told everybody about him, and even before we picked him, is that he's been a professional since his freshman year," Johnson added about Harrison. "So having him here, he's already in a routine, he's already in a flow, and just talking to a lot of the defensive backs, they love going against him, whether it's a high day or a walkthrough day, just the pace that he sets for himself is exceptional."

Neither Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort nor Gannon was with the organization when it signed Murray to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed in the summer of 2022. If Murray fails to play at an elite level in an offense that now features a game-changing talent such as Harrison, Arizona's front office could explore making a franchise-altering decision regarding the sport's most important position by March 2025.

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Cardinals at +300 odds to make the playoffs this season. Johnson and others on the Arizona offensive line will look to keep Murray upright and healthy through at least the majority of the 2024 campaign beginning with the Week 1 game at the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 8.