Fun Facts on Arizona Cardinals 2023 Draft Class

There's plenty to learn about the 2023 Arizona Cardinals draft class.

Ryan Sanudo | May 1, 2023

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Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals first-year general manager Monti Ossenfort has gotten rave reviews from analysts after the 2023 NFL draft.

The Cardinals sent their No. 3 pick to the Houston Texans for No. 12 and more picks, including obtaining next season's first-round pick. Then, Ossenfort elected to use No. 12 and a second-round pick to move up to No. 6 in a trade with the Detroit Lions.

Arizona entered the draft with eight picks and ended up with nine selections and more draft capital for the 2024 season.

The rest is history.

Here are the Cardinals' nine draft picks, and a fun fact about each player.

Cardinals 2023 NFL picks

1st Round-

No. 6: OT Paris Johnson Jr. - Ohio State

In the 1999 NFL draft, Johnson's father, Paris Johnson Sr., was a safety selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round. Unfortunately, his father never played in an NFL game.

2nd Round-

No. 41: EDGE BJ Ojulari - LSU

More family love. The Cardinals drafted BJ Ojulari whose brother, Azeez, was drafted by the New York Giants in last season's NFL draft. Both are also linebackers and second-round picks.

The Cardinals’ 41st overall pick and linebacker BJ Ojulari has a built-in person to lean on in brother and New York Giants LB Azeez Ojulari.

3rd Round-

No. 72: CB Garrett Williams - Syracuse

Williams suffered a torn ACL last October and missed the rest of his final season with Syracuse. On Friday, the 21-year-old said he believes he'll be ready "by July."

No. 94: WR Michael Wilson - Stanford

Similarly to Williams, Wilson also had his final season end prematurely due to injury. The Stanford receiver hurt his collarbone, but his injury is fully healed and he was able to play in the Senior Bowl, where he caught four catches for 76 yards.

4th Round-

No. 122: OL Jon Gaines II - UCLA

Arizona is getting a versatile offensive lineman in Jon Gaines II. The fourth-round pick can play every spot on the line, despite playing guard for most of his college tenure at UCLA.

5th Round-

No. 139: QB Clayton Tune - Houston

Tune's great-great uncle, Jim Lawrence, was the first-ever draft pick for the then-Chicago Cardinals in the NFL draft in 1936. He was a running back from TCU and spent four seasons with the Cardinals and ran for 357 yards and four touchdowns.

No. 168: LB Owen Pappoe - Auburn

Pappoe was a two-time captain for the Tigers and ran an impressive 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

6th Round-

No. 180: CB Kei'Trel Clark - Louisville

Just like new head coach Jonathan Gannon, Clark was a defensive back out of Louisville. He tore his ACL in 2021 and ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine.

No. 213: Dante Stills - West Virginia

Stills' father, Gary, played in the NFL for 10 seasons and his brother, Darius, played with the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.