The first non-quarterback has come off the board. Turning aside trade interest, the Cardinals have retained the No. 4 pick and used it on Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Kyler Murray gets a new WR1 with an NFL pedigree. 
The son of Hall of Fame Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, the younger Harrison has been on the radar of NFL scouts since his sparse freshman year with the Buckeyes. In the next two seasons, though, Harrison proved why he deserved their attention, combining for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns through the air as a sophomore and junior.
In Arizona, Harrison becomes the immediate WR1. The Cardinals saw Marquise Brown depart for Kansas City in free agency and only return Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch while adding Chris Moore in free agency. Murray will now be able to rely on Harrison and budding tight end Trey McBride as his top targets in 2024.
There had been lots of speculation of teams trading up to the No. 4 overall pick in order to draft a fourth quarterback in a row. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, though, all such rumors were hearsay as the Cardinals took part in “no trade talks prior” to making their pick.
This makes sense when you look at the roster and the team’s recent struggles in the wide receiver room. The Cardinals have said goodbye to Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins and Brown over the past three offseasons. After 2023 negotiations with Brown, they let the 2022 trade pickup defect to the Chiefs. That left a gaping hole at wideout, one the Cards did not fill in free agency.
This marks the first significant investment in the position during the Monti Ossenfort–Jonathan Gannon era. Although some teams were believed to have placed LSU’s Malik Nabers — he of a 4.35 40-yard dash — as this draft class’ best wideout prospect, the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Harrison has hovered on the top tier of this prospect pool for several months. The latest Ohio State receiving sensation made a point to inform teams he would not train for the Combine or pre-draft workouts, instead taking the rare step to prepare his body for his NFL team’s offseason program. This unorthodox strategy did not end up docking Harrison.
The Cardinals have not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Hopkins did so in 2020, which also happened to be Larry Fitzgerald‘s final season. It looks like Arizona fans only had to wait three years for another potential legacy wideout. The team gets the No. 1 wide receiver on the board at fourth overall.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.