At 6-foot-6, Cardinals rookie offensive lineman Hayden Conner is about 3 inches too tall to be an astronaut — a childhood dream of his.
A trip to space is “still in (his) back pocket,” however, Conner told Bickley & Marotta on Wednesday.
However, his size and football IQ have made the pursuit of Conner’s new day job a reality.
The Texas Longhorns product was drafted in the sixth round by Arizona with a chance to compete for playing time without a clear-cut starting right guard on the roster.
In three years as a starter for the Longhorns, Conner didn’t miss one of their 43 games and solely handled left guard. Despite this assignment, general manager Monti Ossenfort did his homework and discovered that the 314-pounder can play all five positions on the offensive line.
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“I think it gives me a lot of versatility and flexibility in terms of being able to play all five (positions),” Conner said. “It allows me to understand certain concepts differently than other people, but this isn’t college offense anymore. So it’s definitely an adjustment period for sure, but I feel like I’m adjusting pretty well.”
And with Evan Brown to occupy the left guard spot after inking a two-year contract in March, Conner will be competing with Isaiah Adams and Jon Gaines II for right guard.
For Conner, this internal competition was expected, and he is looking forward to taking notes “from the older guys.”
Besides excellent height and positional versatility, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein in his pre-draft scouting of Conner highlighted the lineman’s ability “to shove twisters and edge runners off course.”
As for areas of improvement entering his rookie campaign, Zierlein said Conner needs to address his pad level when being double-teamed and not “overextend(ing) when mirroring.”
Hayden Conner’s level of violence
Anyone who spends more than a minute around Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon learns how much he enjoys the violence of football.
Conner’s self-proclaimed violence level?
“I mean, I’m violent when I need to be. I’m controlled when I need to be, and I think that’s one of my strengths,” Conner said.
Well, he didn’t exactly say he’s a 10 out of 10, but Gannon and Co. must see enough of that energy to give him a shot.
What does Conner think of former Sun Devil Cam Skattebo?
The newest member of the Arizona O-line summed up former Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo in one word: “unreal.”
Conner got a first-hand look at the Sun Devil in the New Year’s Day Peach Bowl, a College Football Playoff game that Texas won, 39-31, in the second overtime.
And Skattebo, who was a fourth-round selection by the New York Giants, really was unreal. He rattled off 242 all-purpose yards, two rushing touchdowns and a 42-yard passing score as the cherry on top.
“We were biting our dang nails the whole time, but it was awesome,” Conner said of Texas prevailing 39-31 in double overtime.
Cardinals rookie Hayden Conner was on the other side of Cam Skattebo's CFP Peach Bowl performance, when Texas pulled out a win against ASU.@Bickley_Marotta pic.twitter.com/jzqa44q7ih
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 14, 2025
Sharing Texas roots with quarterback Kyler Murray
Conner, a native of Katy, Texas, grew up about 250 miles south of his new signal caller Kyler Murray, who was born in Bedford. Four years separate the two, Conner recently turning 23 and Murray 27.
Conner gave K1 his props for an “unbelieveable” high school career in the Lone Star state — Murray went 42-0 at Allen High School. However, he isn’t as thrilled with Murray’s college of choice.
“I mean, he went to OU, so that kind of sucks,” Conner said with a laugh. “But, yeah, it’s awesome to be able to have the opportunity to block for him. He’s definitely a different style quarterback than I’m used to. I think I’ll adjust well to how fast and mobile he is.”
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