Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort says drafting Marvin Harrison Jr. ‘was really a no-brainer’
May 6, 2024, 4:30 PM
Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort never had a doubt in his mind that his team would select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Ossenfort made an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday to talk about everything leading up to being on the clock.
“We had done a ton of work on Marvin, and at that point, it was really a no-brainer for us,” Ossenfort told Eisen.
💻 Monti Ossenfort
The @AZCardinals GM told us if it was always going to be Marvin Harrison Jr. at 4th overall? Was there any thought of trading down or making any moves with the pick?#NFL #NFLDraft #BirdGang pic.twitter.com/OHTxhv3yMY
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 6, 2024
Ossenfort said that Arizona began scouting Harrison over a year ago, based off of his 2022 film. The Cardinals also watched the star wide receiver work out with quarterback C.J. Stroud at Ohio State’s Pro Day in 2023, before Stroud was drafted to the Houston Texans.
This year, Harrison did not participate in the Buckeyes Pro Day. He also did not work out at the NFL Combine. However, Ossenfort was confident with everything they had already seen from the Ohio State legend.
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“We felt we had plenty of information, plenty of tools and plenty of tape to evaluate Marvin on,” the Cardinals GM said. “Once we got a chance to meet Marvin at our (top-30) visit, and also at the Combine, we really felt comfortable with who Marvin was as a player and who Marvin was as a person.”
While it was common knowledge for a long time that Arizona was locked in on taking Harrison with its first pick, anything can happen when it comes to trades, and the team did take phone calls.
“Once we got on the clock and leading up to that, those offers just didn’t come close to getting us to move off of the pick,” Ossenfort said.
Many players and fans alike are glad that the Cardinals didn’t move out of the No. 4 pick — including quarterback Kyler Murray.
LETS WORK. pic.twitter.com/8DzJ6ZmVQA
— Kyler Murray (@K1) April 26, 2024
