Boehm’s confidence had to shoot up on the day the Cardinals first reported to camp when Arians was asked specifically about the depth chart at right guard.
“I just know 1. And 1 is Evan,” Arians said. “We’ll see who the hell No. 2 and 3 are.”
There are a handful of others in competition with Boehm for the starting spot between center A.Q. Shipley and right tackle Jared Veldheer, who spent each of his previous seven NFL seasons as a left tackle. So far in camp, the three primary backups behind Boehm have been Cole Toner, John Wetzel and rookie Dorian Johnson.
Toner, though, is being groomed as a swing tackle who can dabble at guard and center. Wetzel, a former practice-squad player for the Raiders, Cowboys and Colts, is now being looked at mostly as a backup right tackle. That leaves Johnson, a fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh where he was a four-year starter whom Cardinals insiders had pegged as Boehm’s biggest threat.
“We’ll get Dorian as many reps as we possibly can,” Arians said, “but no, it’s Evan’s job. Those last spots, we’ll wait and see.”
