Monday marked the first official day of voluntary Organized Team Activities and for the Cardinals’ new wide receiver, Zay Jones, just like a lot of players in camp, there’s a lot left to be determined.
It goes well beyond just finding a new permanent jersey number. The seven-year veteran, who signed a one-year deal with Arizona a week ago, presently shares the same number as punter Blake Gillikin — No. 12.
It’s clearly apparent that Jones already has a big ally in coach Jonathan Gannon.
“With Zay, you guys will quickly find out he fits the price of admission here,” Gannon said, using one of is favorite phrases to describe a team-first player. “His football character is through the roof. He’s extremely smart and has obviously played at a high level for a good amount of time. He’s done well acclimating in last week and he’s excited to go.”
The biggest question isn’t so much where he ends up on the depth chart, but where he fits best in the offense. That will eventually sort itself out, but Gannon said Jones is capable of playing either the outside X or Z wideout spots and also be effective inside as a slot receiver.
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“Come compete for all the spots,” Gannon said when asked how the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Jones fits into the scheme of things. “That’s kind of all our guys right now. But he’s really a three-position guy. He can play it all and he’s smart enough to play all of it. The entire team knows right now it’s kind of a competing phase for their role. Those roles will be defined at the 53 (final cutdown) and when we put together the practice squad, so everyone’s kind of in the same boat.
“But he’s played multiple positions throughout his career, had production at all of them and like I said, he’s extremely smart and wants to help us win.”
Jones, 29, has appeared in 104 games with the Bills, Raiders and Jaguars since entering the league in 2017 with Buffalo as a second-round pick out of East Carolina. He has 297 receptions for 3,028 yards and 18 touchdowns and his best season came with Jacksonville in 2022 when he caught a career-high 82 passes for a career-high 823 yards with five TDs.
Although no concrete roles have been awarded, it’s expected that first-round rookie draft choice Marvin Harrison Jr. will become the Cardinals’ No.1 wide receiver and that Jones will compete with second-year pro Michael Wilson as WR No. 2 with Greg Dortch likely seeing plenty of snaps in the slot formation.
Wherever he lines up, Jones knows there will be opportunities with a quarterback such as Kyler Murray throwing him the ball.
“I don’t have the full picture yet, but I know this guy is a playmaker,” Jones said following Monday’s workouts. “He’s done it at every single level of his career from high school to college and in the pros. He’s well-established, and he’s proven it. He seems like a great leader so far; he just has a way of how he carries himself that I admire.
“It’s a confidence that he has without even having to say a whole lot, which I can really appreciate. The offense is still coming together for me. I’d be lying to you if I said, ‘This is what it’s going to look like.’ But the tools around me and me helping, this group I believe can be explosive and I’m looking forward to the way it’s going to unfold.”
Injuries were mainly to blame for Jones’ drop in production last season in Jacksonville, where he finished with 34 receptions for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He missed eight games due to knee and leg issues and played through the pain once he returned.
“It was very frustrating,” said Jones, whose father, James, was a linebacker who played 10 years in the NFL and won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys. “It was really one of the first times I’ve had that obstacle come in my career. I’ve taken a lot of pride for being available for my team and kind of hit a speedbump last year with it.”
Jones enjoyed a healthy and very productive career in college. During his senior season at East Carolina, he set a school record for most receptions in a game with 22. He went on to set the NCAA Division 1 record for most receptions in a single season with 158. Jones left college with 399 career receptions, the most in Division 1 history.
And to think, East Carolina was the only school to offer him a scholarship.
“I didn’t start first in the depth chart there, either. I worked my way into it,” Jones said. “By the grace of God toward the end, I had a record-breaking career which catapulted me into the draft. So, I’m grateful for that. It’s truly a blessing. God really had his hand over my life throughout that course in college and it’s brought me to here and I just want to continue to work on building that sort of mindset — that the work is never finished and to keep going.”
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Jones is one of five new wide receiver additions this year and all of them stand 6-1 or taller. Harrison is the tallest at 6-4, followed by Jones and rookie draft choice Tejhaun Palmer at 6-2, and veteran Chris Moore and undrafted rookie Xavier Weaver at 6-1.
The Cardinals moved on from 5-9 receiver Hollywood Brown and the 5-7 Rondale Moore, but Gannon said adding size wasn’t necessarily an intentional decision this offseason.
“Not really. We try to add the best players we can,” he said.
Gannon names starting tackles
Although he said earlier this offseason that he wouldn’t be naming his starting offensive tackles until just before the start of the regular season, Gannon on Monday announced Paris Johnson Jr. will be the Cardinals’ starting left tackle and free-agent addition Jonah Williams will be the starting right tackle.
Johnson played predominantly at left tackle at Ohio State before being drafted by Arizona last year in the first round. He started at right tackle and played all 17 games last season as a rookie without missing a single snap. Williams was the starting right tackle last season for the Bengals after starting the three previous years at left tackle.
“I think it’s going to be good,” Gannon said. “Paris obviously has played both (sides), Jonah has played both. We’ll start there and see how it goes. Through the first three weeks on the grass, that’s what they’ve been doing, that’s what they’re both comfortable with right now.
“So, we’ll see how it looks but I do have the veto power to switch ’em back.”
Missing in action
Defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc is not attending this week’s OTA session after undergoing surgery on his quadriceps and Achilles, according to Gannon.
Quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, meanwhile, is in Nashville this week for the 2024 Coach Accelerator program. The Accelerator series serves as a platform for clubs and owners to engage with qualified coaching candidates from diverse backgrounds and helps them build relationships with team owners and executives to further develop and hone their leadership skills.
