Why Cardinals made the right call in NFL Draft
In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals made a no-brainer decision with the fourth overall pick, selecting Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr. The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison Sr. is set to be their leading pass-catcher and give Kyler Murray his best target since DeAndre Hopkins.
While the selection was obvious, the decision to hang on to the fourth pick wasn’t. With six quarterbacks selected in the top 12 picks, it’s possible Arizona could have traded its pick to a QB-needy team for more picks and/or veterans.
One of the teams who was considered likely to make a move with the Cardinals was the Minnesota Vikings. They owned the 11th and 23rd picks and were reportedly looking to draft Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
We now know this worked out for Minnesota regardless, as the Vikings only needed to move up one spot to grab McCarthy. This doesn’t eliminate the possibility that Arizona received trade offers, especially considering Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.’s surprisingly high draft value.
While moving down the board and amassing draft capital sounds nice in theory, eventually teams have to cash in and land superstar talent. That’s exactly what the Cardinals did by bringing Harrison to Arizona.