What a Perfect First Round Looks Like for Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have two picks in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft - what's the best case scenario look like?

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are one of few teams to possess multiple picks in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the organization can make some serious noise with those selections.

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort has numerous possibilities at either pick four or 27 in late April. With. needs scattered across the board, nearly any final product would help boost the team from their 4-13 record last season.

But what's a perfect first round look like in the desert? Pro Football Focus walked through that exact scenario with Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu being the two picks:

"The true best-case scenario for Arizona could arguably feature a trade-down from their top spot, depending on the desperation of quarterback-needy teams below them. But assuming they stick with their selection, drafting the best receiver available is a no-brainer. Despite us reaching the 'overthinking Marvin Harrison Jr.' portion of the pre-draft process, he is still arguably the best player in this class, regardless of position," wrote Sam Monson.

"Harrison sheds contact by defenders more easily than any receiver I can remember entering the draft, and he averaged 3.44 yards per route run last season despite an ugly quarterback situation for the Buckeyes in a post-C.J. Stroud landscape. Harrison would immediately become the team’s best receiver and a top target for Kyler Murray.

"With the Cardinals' second first-round pick, the team should look at the best defender available. Laiatu Latu has the potential to slide in the draft because of his medical history and how he compares to other top prospects athletically. It’s not that Latu is a bad athlete, it’s just that he isn’t special in the way Alabama’s Dallas Turner or Penn State’s Chop Robinson are. Latu is, however, significantly more productive than anyone else in this draft and has peerless technique. Last season, he recorded an outstanding 26.2% pass-rush win rate, notching 62 quarterback pressures from only 304 pass-rushing snaps."

Both Harrison and Latu would be extremely strong additions to help balance both sides of the ball - and both incoming players have also met with Arizona during the pre-draft process.

The Cardinals could also look to move down from the No 4 spot to capitalize on a quarterback-needy team looking to move up, which would result in more draft picks for Ossenfort to utilize for 2024 and beyond.

Either scenario feels like a win-win, though the Cardinals adding Harrison and Latu would be a tremendous start to the draft.