Journalist Selected With Sixth Pick in NFL Draft

The first hour of the NFL Draft was full of surprises and proven once and for all that versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and especially 5.0 of the mocks leading up to this Human Resources Super Bowl are good at predicting one thing: that you are very likely to click on them. Houston selected C.J. Stroud with the second pick then moved up to take Will Anderson. Anthony Richardson went fourth to Indianapolis and Seattle opted to use a top-five swing on cornerback Devin Witherspoon.

But the biggest shock of all came via the Arizona Cardinals, who made the unusual decision to draft a journalist at six. Paris Johnson Jr. of Ohio State's student newspaper, The Lantern. A versatile prospect, the 6-foot-6, 318-pound wordsmith showed an ability to contribute on myriad beats. He covered the baseball team's loss to Northwestern, a student organization's use of music to aid dementia patients, and the on-campus reaction to the removal of mask mandates.

He's what Fourth Estate front office scouts would call bit of a Swiss Army Knife.

And well-rounded too as he has hobbies outside of composing nutgraphs and consulting with his editors, as evidenced by his stint as an offensive tackle for the Buckeyes' football team. Johnson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and a second-team All-American nod from the Associated Press.

It feels like a safe bet that he appreciates the Associated Press more than any other first-rounder.

The Cardinals have some work to do and protecting the diminutive Kyler Murray. If Johnson pans out, it will go a long way in helping them write a more positive story.