Arizona Cardinals Draft WR Marvin Harrison Jr. To Address Acute Need

The Arizona Cardinals concluded the 2023 season firmly committed to quarterback Kyler Murray. On Day 1 of the NFL draft, they committed to help him.

The Cardinals selected Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick of the draft, a move that addressed a critical need and should provide Murray a much-needed weapon in coach Jonathan Gannon’s second season.

“Kyler is awesome,” Harrison said. “He’s always won, and that’s the kind of guy that you want to play with. He’s just so dynamic as a quarterback. I just want to go in there and make his job easier as best as I can.”

Harrison, son of the former NFL Hall of Famer of the same name, projects to give the Cardinals a No.1 receiving threat they have not had since losing DeAndre Hopkins to free agency after the 2022 season.

In a perfect future, Harrison would develop into the kind of long-term face of the franchise that 11-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald became during a 1,432-catch career that ended when he retired in 2020.

Fitzgerald, the third player taken in the 2004 draft, teamed with 2003 draftee Anquan Boldin to give the Cardinals one of the best 1-2 receiver combinations in the league for a decade. Fitzgerald is a shoo-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in 2026.

Big shoes, but Harrison has the resumè.

Harrison, 6’3” and 202 pounds, had 155 receptions for 2,613 and 31 touchdowns in three seasons at Ohio State. He was a two-time All-American in 2022-23, with 144 catches and 28 touchdowns in his two seasons as a starter.

“I’m just trying to learn the playbook, get my connection down with Kyler and whatever happens from there, happens. That’s definitely not my thought,” Harrison said of becoming the No. 1 target. “Just go in there and work as hard as I can, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”

General manager Monti Ossenfort addressed another area of need by taking edge rusher/defensive lineman Darius Robinson with the 27th pick in the first round, a pick obtained from Houston in 2023 draft day deal. They chose him over Texas wideout Xavier Worthy, who went to Kansas City with the next pick.

“I told them in my interview just line me up, let me put my cleats in the ground and play fast,” Robinson said. “I’m going to be violent and play as hard as I can.”

The Cardinals committed about $47.5 million in payroll on Day 1. Harrison is to earn an estimated $34 million on a four-year contract with a fifth-year option, according to a Spotrac estimate, and Robinson is to earn about $13.5 million over the same term. NFL rookie contracts cannot be renegotiated or altered until after a player’s third year.

Arizona entered the seven-round draft with a league-high 11 picks, and they will turn to other needs in the second and third rounds Friday. They have the 35th overall pick in the second round and Nos. 66, 71 and 90 in the third round.

Primary among their needs are a cornerback and interior offensive line depth. The Cardinals took Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr. with the sixth overall pick in 2023 and added tackle Jonah Williams in free agency, but guard appears to be an area of need. Johnson and Harrison were Buckeyes’ teammates in 2021-22.

Robinson was drafted to boslter the Cardinals’ pass rush. They had 33 sacks last season, 30th in the league, and had only one in their last six games. Zaven Collins, their 2021 first-round draft pick, has yet to grow into a feature player.

The Cardinals can hope the Harrison pick will help them move past their poor recent draft history at that position. They have had more misses than hits with their wide receive choices since taking John Brown with a third-round pick in the 2014, although they have never picked this high.

Of the eight receivers Arizona has taken since 2015, one three remain in the league — 2018 No. 2 Christian Kirk, 2021 No. 2 Rondale Moore and 2023 No. 3 Michael Wilson. Only Wilson, who had 38 receptions in 13 games last season, is still on the roster.

Former general manager Steve Keim and former coach Kliff Kingsbury particularly stumbled after making Murray the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. The Cardinals passed on Drew Metcalf with the 62nd pick in the second round to take Andy Isabella, then took Hakeem Butler in the fourth round. Isabella surfaced as a kick returner with Buffalo last season but has only 33 career receptions. Butler has none.

Moore, like Isabella, was expected to be a shifty target in Kingsbury’s quick-strike system. While he had 135 receptions with three touchdowns in three season, he never played a major role. He was traded Atlanta over the summer to land Murray’s presumed backup, Desmond Ridder.

Second-year tight end Trey McBride developed into Murray’s favorite target as the 2023 season developed and was the Cardinals’ leading receiver with 81 catches. Marquise Brown had the most among wide receives with 51.

Brown, a former college teammate of Murray at Oklahoma who was acquired from Philadelphia for a 2022 first round pick, was expected to add a deep threat. But he missed seven games in two seasons and never became more than a secondary piece despite leading Cardinals’ wide receivers with 67 catches in 2022. He signed with Kansas City as a free agent after last season.