Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, it is thought by many that Ohio State University wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is headed to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 4 overall pick.
It seems that would be just fine with Harrison, based on a conversation relayed by former college teammate and current Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr.
“I literally went to Marvin and was like, ‘Dude, you know you’re a Cardinal, right?'” Johnson said. “I knew he was going to be a Cardinal because I saw what happened with [DeAndre Hopkins]. I’m like, the Cardinals are probably going to want another 6-4 receiver.”
According to Johnson, if the Cardinals want Harrison, he wants them too.
“He said he wanted to be a Cardinal,” Johnson said.
Harrison is considered one of the top wide receiver prospects in years, combining size with good hands and excellent route running. This past season, he made 67 receptions for 1,211 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns and won the award given to college’s top receiver. In the 2022 campaign, he made 77 receptions for 1,263 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Arizona is in the market for a new No. 1 receiver after losing Marquise Brown to the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. The Cardinals are thought to have an excellent chance to nab Harrison as the teams with the top three selections – the Chicago Bears at No. 1, Washington Commanders at No. 2 and New England Patriots at No. 3 – are all thought to be targeting quarterbacks with their picks.
Rome Odunze of the University of Washington and Malik Nabers of Louisiana State University are the other top wide receiver prospects in the upcoming draft, which will be held in late April.
Johnson himself was a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, grabbed by the Cardinals at No. 6 overall after also playing at Ohio State.
Harrison’s father Marvin was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after an outstanding career with the Indianapolis Colts. The elder Harrison is an eight-time All-Pro, eight-time Pro Bowl selection and won the Super Bowl with the Colts in the 2006 season. He held the NFL single-season record of 143 receptions (established in the 2002 season) until it was broken by Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
If the younger Harrison can have a career anywhere close to the one his father fashioned, he and the Cardinals will be very happy with the result of this upcoming No. 4 overall draft pick.
