How Cardinals Navigated 2024 NFL Draft

The Arizona Cardinals concluded their 2024 NFL Draft haul - here's how they got here.

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. poses with NFL / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- The dust is still settling on the Arizona Cardinals' 2024 NFL Draft class, and they're quite thrilled with what they walked away with.

Festivities began on Thursday for Round 1, where Arizona held two picks at No. 4 and 27, respectively.

There was massive trade interest on both picks for the Cardinals, with many believing Arizona was looking to move down with a quarterback-needy team.

Rather, they stuck and chose the ever-so-obvious pick of Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr., an elite weapon for Kyler Murray to target downfield for years to come.

“I think really we were prepared to pick and we were prepared to pick Marvin at four," said GM Monti Ossenfort. "Really there was no trade that came that was going to get us off that pick. If somebody would've (come) and offered us something that would've been the best thing for the team, we certainly would've done it. Ultimately, we felt the best tonight about sticking with Marvin at number four.”

Despite many believing the Cardinals would attempt to move up from 27, Ossenfort ultimately stuck and selected Missouri DL Darius Robinson, a versatile weapon along Arizona's defensive line that only adds to the depth provided from free agent signings in Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols.

“I think we've talked about it at length. We can never have enough big guys, whether that's on the offensive or defensive line," said Ossenfort to conclude Day 1.

"I think last year our depth got tested, so we were able to add some pieces that we (knew) were going to help us in free agency and then (we added) another piece in the draft here on day one. Really excited to do that. In the end, on the offensive and defensive line I don't think we can ever have enough quality players up there, and that's why we felt good about adding Darius.”

Day 2 - consisting of Rounds 2/3 - brought more intrigue with the Cardinals owning the third pick to begin the night.

Ossenfort hinted at trading out of the pick after round one, and that came to fruition when Arizona moved down to No. 43 with the Atlanta Falcons, gaining what was a fourth third-round pick on the night.

After being heavily favored to take a corner, the Cardinals saw prominent names such as Cooper DeJean and Kool-Aid McKinstry taken after moving back - though they were more than happy to take Rutgers CB Max Melton.

"We were at 35. We had a ton of offers at that pick and ultimately got a good deal.  A good deal we felt really good about from the Falcons. In that deal, we dropped back to 43. Picked up a mid-round third and kicked back a sixth-round pick," said Ossenfort.

"We dropped back to 43 and picked (CB) Max Melton out of Rutgers. Excited to add Max. Max is a guy that’s been on our radar all season. He had a great week at the Senior Bowl, had a good meeting with him at the combine and had a good 30 visit here for us. Excited to add Max."

Many had believed Arizona - with four selections in the third - would have used those picks to move back into the second.

Rather, the Cardinals utilized each of those picks (even trading back once with the Indianapolis Colts to net an extra sixth-rounder) to put Arizona at seven picks in the top 90, more than any other NFL team.

We'll let Ossenfort take it away when detailing the four third-rounders:

"We stuck and picked at our third-round pick there at 66 we took (RB) Trey Benson out of Florida State. A big fast explosive runner. A productive runner over the last couple years for Florida State. Then at 71, we stuck and picked at 71. Took (OL) Isaiah Adams out of the University of Illinois. An interesting situation, he played guard last year for them and was forced to go out and play right tackle for them this year. Really impressive of him to do that. Not his natural position, but he went out there and held up. Then going down to the Senior Bowl, he had a good week down at the Senior Bowl. He moved back inside to guard. Played mostly guard down there. It was good to see him down there. He comes from a good program. I’ve got a great relationship with (University of Illinois Head Coach Bret) Bielema down there. He spoke very highly of Isaiah and so we were excited to add him to the group," he said.

"Got to pick 79, the one that we picked up from Atlanta, and had a chance to drop back a few spots there. We got the sixth rounder back that we had kicked to Atlanta--got the sixth rounder back in that trade was with (Indianapolis) I believe, so then at 82 we took Isaiah Adams teammate, (TE) Tip Reiman. A tight end and a big physical blocker. A really impressive test athlete. He really came on this year I would say, and then had a good week down at the East West game. We had (Passing Game Coordinator/WR's coach) Drew Terrell down there. One of our coaches coached Tip down there on his team, and then backed Isaiah Adams. (Asst. OL Coach) Chris Cook coached down in the Senior Bowl and had Isaiah on it. We had some intel on both of those players from the all-star game process.

"Then we finished up the night at number 90 and picked (CB) Elijah Jones out of Boston College. A corner (that's) long, and fast. Another guy who had a good week down at the Senior Bowl. Impressive individual. I think it continues to work out for us in terms of we feel like we not only added talented players, but just the football character of these guys being top notch. A busy day for us. We added five players and moved around a little bit up and down the board, so it was a busy day for us. We've wrapped up and we'll go at it again tomorrow. With that, we'll turn it over to you guys.”

Arizona entered the third and final day of draft weekend looking to supplement various positions, and that they did.

The Cardinals - with five picks on Day 3 - first took safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson out of Texas Tech, a rangy ball-hawk that will play behind the likes of Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker - who is entering the final year of his contract.

After using Pick 104 on a safety, the Cardinals addressed one of their biggest holes at edge rusher with Clemson's Xavier Thomas at No. 138. Arizona previously said they were content with the guys they had in the room with B.J. Ojulari, Dennis Gardeck and Zaven Collins.

“Yeah, I love the group. Where they're at. I think that that entire room has done some really good things, and they all have a little bit different skill set, which is what we kind of like, the versatility there. You never know how it's going to go tomorrow, undrafted free agents, there's some guys that could be available that we like, so always trying to add competition to every room. From there, coach them up and make sure that we're improving their game," said Jonathan Gannon heading into the final day.

Texas OT Christian Jones - who played soccer until he was 16 and switched to football - is a developmental pick for Arizona after landing at Pick 162 in the fifth round. Jones' versatility on the left and right side projects well to grow while Jonah Williams and Paris Johnson handle starting duties moving forward.

Many had anticipated the Cardinals would double-dip at receiver after taking Harrison, though Arizona waited until Pick 191 with the relatively unknown Tejhaun Palmer out of UAB. Palmer landed on Bruce Feldman's college football freaks for 2023 thanks to his athleticism.

To conclude the draft, Arizona nabbed a third CB in Miami's Jaden Davis - who played for four seasons at Oklahoma before becoming a Hurricane. It appears the Cardinals were steadfast on improving their secondary and adding competition to various spots.

“Yeah, we have five picks tomorrow. One in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth, one in the seventh. We will continue to work our board. We still have guys up there that we like. We will see if they're still standing when we get to them," said Ossenfort.

"And again, constantly adding competition to our roster. We can never have enough of it, so we're excited to have one more day to build our roster through the draft.”

Mission accomplished.

All in all, Arizona made 12 selections - the highest in the league and most for a team in a single draft since 1992 per the team.