The Arizona Cardinals have only played three games this year and currently sit at 1-2-0 in the league’s toughest division. However, both losses are to division foes.
With a new head coach, Mike LaFleur, brought over the offense from the Los Angeles Rams. He also learned these principles from the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams are highly successful with potent offensive outputs.
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What is the status of the Cardinals’ offensive line so far? Having difficulties already after
just a few games, or providing this offense with a solid foundation?
In the offseason, GM Monti Ossenfort had a mission to improve this group. He did not re-sign OGs Evan Brown and Will Hernandez and allowed OTs Kelvin Beachum and Jonah Williams to find gainful employment elsewhere. Currently, Brown is the starting center for the Houston Texans, while the others remain out of football.
After Week 2, the Cardinals offensive line was ranked collectively as a group at #20 by Pro Football Focus (PFF), up one spot from Week 1. In the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, four of the five starters earned PFF grades above 60.0.
First off, OG Isaac Seumalo was the splash signing in free agency. How is he doing so far?
Seumalo has played every snap at left guard (209) with a PFF grade of 63.1. He is regarded as an excellent pass protector, but his run-blocking grades sit at 46.1. He has no issues in pulls, but the problem is that he will whiff on blocking any defender, which defeats the purpose of pulling.
He has allowed just one sack, two QB hits, seven pressures, and has zero penalties called on him.
RT Elijah Wilkinson was brought over from the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. In 2025, he started every game for the Falcons at right tackle and has played in 99 NFL games with 65 starts. So far, he has a PFF grade of 57.7 and is ranked 54th among 69 qualified offensive tackles. His issue is with run blocking. He grades out at 52.4 in this aspect and is ranked 56th at the OT position. He is an above-average pass blocker, though.
Wilkinson has allowed just one sack, three QB hits, and six pressures. He has only two penalties accepted. He has played every snap at RT this year, with 212 snaps.
C Hjalte Froholdt is this group’s rock. Like the others, he has also played every offensive snap, which is par for him since he has never missed a single rep since he landed in the desert in 2023. His PFF numbers are 57.5 for the year so far, ranking him 19th out of 32 qualified centers.
He has allowed only three pressures with zero sacks and zero QB hits and has had only one accepted penalty.
RG Isaiah Adams played in Week 1 and this past weekend’s contest against the San Francisco 49ers, and missed the second game against the Seahawks. In those two contests, he played every snap at right guard. He has an overall PFF grade of 68.5 and is an exceptional run blocker (71.4). His pass-protection rating is 55.3.
That breaks down to allowing only one sack, one QB hit, four pressures, and zero penalties called.
RG Jon Gaines spelled Adams in Week 2. His PFF grade for the one game was 69.6. Excellent pass blocker and ranked 9th out of 68 guards. His situation included zero sacks, one QB hit, one pressure, and zero penalties.
Finally, the top dog. LT Paris Johnson is showing why the Cardinals spent the sixth overall pick in the first round back in 2023. The only knock on him is his durability. In only a three-game capsule, Johnson grades out at 80.8. The breakdown is a pass protection grade of 82.1 and an 81.1 run-blocking rating. This man is the meat and potatoes for the Cardinals.
He has played every snap this far (fingers crossed), allowed a single sack, two QB hits, four pressures, and had three penalties accepted.
As anyone can see, run blocking is the greatest issue with the offensive line. This new offense is predicated on the short passing game and being able to run the ball. Not being able to gain yardage via the run impairs the offense in numerous ways.
This new offense has the best running back from April’s NFL Draft, who was finally the featured back against the 49ers. He was a step away from taking it to the house on several carries. This offense also features a capable backup in Tyler Allgeier and, when ready, James Conner. The horses are in the stable.
By having a capable run game, the offence can win the possession game and dictate the game clock. This Cardinal’s offense has to be capable of grinding it out late in the second and fourth quarters if needed, yet the team ranks 24th in run-block win rate and sits among the bottom tier of NFL teams averaging fewer than 95 rushing yards per game. That is a huge problem.
2026 PFF run blocking grades (after 3 games):
- RT Elijah Wilkinson: 52.4
- RG Isaiah Adams: 71.4
- RG Jon Gaines: 64.2
- C Hjalte Froholdt: 57.3
- LG Isaac Seumalo: 46.1
- LT Paris Johnson: 81.1
Against San Fran, this offense completely dominated the 49ers in the first half of the game. Time of possession was 21:01 for Arizona to San Fran’s 8:59, yet the Cardinals were losing 17-6. Their offense converted touchdowns, whereas the Cardinals punted after long drives or converted field goals. Arizona possessions in the first half: punt, punt, punt, FG, FG. Somehow, this offense has to find a way to finish.
In the above clip, look at how much of a wall the offensive line provided QB Jacoby Brissett. As a group, they are doing a lot of things right.
Everyone is in unison that this new offense will need to blossom, but being patient isn’t an easy task. This offensive line has been together now for three games. Perhaps it can improve and give Brissett clean pockets. But at times, it has struggled. ESPN metrics show that no Cardinals offensive lineman ranks inside the Top-20 at their respective position for pass-block win rate, nor in the Top-10 for run-block win rate.
This new offense will only go as far as the offensive line allows.
