The offensive line lineup of the 2025 Arizona Cardinals had plenty of issues. This same group was ranked #26 last season. Both offensive guard spots were atrocious, along with numerous injuries to both tackles.
This meant a ton of different lineups during the season, 12 different lineups over the 17-game season. That’s a lot of change each week. Every team’s offensive line depends upon continuity within its group. Instability is not conducive to success with the shuffle in bodies every other week.
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During the offseason, Cardinals’ GM Monti Ossenfort made it his quest to change the landscape of the offensive line. OG Evan Brown, OT Jonah Williams, OT Kelvin Beachum, and OG Will Hernandez were all free agents. Brown signed with the Houston Texans. The rest are still unemployed.
Ossenfort made it clear that he was ready to bring in some capable players with the O-Line and start a new unit.
In February, the Cardinals announced the hiring of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, followed by the retention of offensive line coach Justin Frye and Chris Cook as assistant to the offensive line. This means the men who oversee the offensive line room continued.
On March 11, Ossenfort brought in OG Isaac Seumalo, who was considered the best guard prospect available in free agency. Next up were the signings of OG Matt Pryor and OT Elijah Wilkinson, with Brown released.
Three new pieces of the offensive line puzzle were about to get into place.
Pryor will compete with incumbent Isaiah Adams and newly-drafted Chase Bisontis for the right guard starting position. Seumalo will be starting at the other guard spot. These two positions will meld with C Hjalte Froholdt and LT Paris Johnson. This is looking to be a very solid offensive line.
One of the most significant transactions was the addition of Wilkinson. It is also the least-talked-about transition.
Wilkinson (6’-6”, 310 pounds) came to the Cardinals expecting the team to improve right away. He started all 17 games at right tackle for the Atlanta Falcons last year and played 1,096 snaps, or 100% of all offensive plays.
He couldn’t wait to get out of Atlanta, where he blasted his former teammates and called the Falcons a “laughing stock”. Wilkinson signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal to join Arizona, a team he played for back in 2023. He has been with the Falcons for the past two seasons.
Basically, he demolished his former team on social media.
It all started when a Falcons fan with the handle “jonah_ant_me” posted and added a laughing emoji:
“Thank god your gone”
Wilkinson responded back with his handle “elijahwilkinson68”:
“good luck with that clown show over there.”
Then, all hell broke loose. 88 replies, 102 reposts, and over 1,000 likes. The Falcon fans were pretty brutal from that point on:
- did u false start before sending this”
- “He went to the Cardinals…..”
- “Ain’t you the mf that got penix hurt????”
- “This ain’t news to Falcons fans… we know it’s a clown show… but it’s our clown show.”
- “Killed my starting QB and he’s acting like a drama queen. Can’t make this up”
- “dude sucks who cares”
- “Guess his class slipped past him like every defender he went against.”
- “Mr. False start himself !”
These were some of the ones we could print. The Penix reference is when their starting QB, Michael Penix, Jr., blew out a partially torn ACL and MCL in his left leg, which he suffered in Week 11 of the 2025 season, and became a season-ending injury. Fans are stating it was Wilkinson’s man who tackled Penix. He had four season-ending injuries in college.
On that particular play against the Carolina Panthers, tight end Kyle Pitts lined up just wide of Wilkinson. On the snap, safety Tre’von Moehrig blitzed, to which Pitts never attempted to chip him. Wilkinson took his normal defender, Princely Umanmielen, while Moehrig had a clear shot at Penix. The running back, Tyler Allgeier, saw Moehrig late and attempted a block on him, but it was too late. Moehrig nailed Penix, who had his left leg become clogged and bent underneath his own body.
It wasn’t Wilkinson’s fault. Pitts ran his route without any attention to the safety, who was clearly set up along the line. Allgeier never saw Moehrig flying off the edge, although he was clearly left in to block.
With his rant against the Falcons, Wilkinson did mention he had issues with Pitts, who rarely blocked anyone, plus receiver Darnell Mooney, for whatever reason.
But not all Falcon fans were on the warpath. Some applauded his talent and were sorry to see him leave Atlanta. But, those were few:
- “Who here has played in the NFL? Calling Wilkinson a loser? What a group of losers. His comments obviously reflect culture. If a third stringer is glad to be gone that says something about the organization as a whole and the confidence of at least some of the players about whether”
- “It hurts because I agree with Elijah.”
- “He’s not wrong @AtlantaFalcons pretty much a joke right now.“
Wilkinson’s Pro Football Focus grade last year was a decent 62.9, with a pass protection rating of 61.0. He allowed six sacks, of which the aforementioned play was not included. He also had 12 accepted penalties, which is a concern. Nine of those were false starts. He also allowed a hefty 46 pressures.
The Denver Broncos signed him as a rookie after the 2017 NFL draft when he wasn’t selected. He made their roster in his first year and played four years with the Broncos. He then played for the Chicago Bears, the Falcons, Arizona, and then Atlanta again for two seasons before re-signing with the Cardinals.
He has versatility in that he has played at left guard and right tackle during his nine-year NFL career.
Wilkinson, age 31, has proven to be very durable last year, but he has had his share of injuries in the past: Fractured shinbone (2020), knee injury (2022), calf strain (2022), neck injury (2023), and ankle issues (2024). In his nine seasons, he started 62 NFL games.
He learned the art of pass blocking when he attended UMass during his four years of college. They only averaged 99.5 yards per game in rushing, but threw the ball extensively with 356.2 yards per game, airing it out on average. The passing offense ranked #4 in the Mid-American Conference.
In just his second year, he started six games. Then he started all 22 games in his junior and senior seasons. At Downingtown West High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, he was named First-Team All-League and voted the county’s “Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman.”
Now, Wilkinson is back with Arizona with a brand-new two-year deal for low dough. He has been penciled in at right tackle. His backups before training camp begin are listed as Oli Udoh, Jayden Williams, and Demontrey Jacobs.
Udoh (6’-6”, 325 pounds) is with his fourth NFL club after being drafted in the sixth round and has just 22 NFL starts in his seven years in the league. Williams (6’-4”, 307 pounds) was taken in Round 7 in this year’s NFL draft out of Ole Miss. Jacobs (6’-6”, 315 pounds) went undrafted in 2023 and came to Arizona last year after being part of the last cut with the New England Patriots.
The signing of Wilkinson by Ossenfort occurred when Wilkinson played all 17 games at right tackle with Atlanta last year.
The Cardinals’ right tackle this past year, Jonah Williams, was hurt and ended his season while on IR. He was then a free agent. Williams is a former first-round draft pick and spent the last two seasons with Arizona. However, he had some injury issues of his own. In his first season in Tempe, he suffered a knee injury and was placed on IR early in the season. Then last year, Williams underwent season-ending surgery to repair a shoulder injury suffered in Week 10.
Instead of an extension, Ossenfort didn’t re-sign him, and he remains unemployed.
And now Wilkinson is listed as the starter on the depth chart. Is he the answer at right tackle?
It is certainly encouraging to see Ossenfort take control of the offensive line issues and not punt the 2026 season. He has brought in very good talent that will compete each week and allow this new Mike LaFleur offense to grow and become the new norm.
In the meantime, Wilkinson is focused on what he needs to accomplish and helping out the younger guys who are now in the league and might become his line partner, like the second-rounder Bisontis, who will push to start at right guard.
What Cardinals fans should be looking forward to is an offensive line that is at least one thing: competent. Since three of the five positions are new guys, this group may take a few games to take shape and create some continuity. It seems like it will become a good to very good line, but it will need some time to get each player on the same page and used to each other.
The best plan is not to give up on them in September.
