Monti Ossenfort is making it clear: The Arizona Cardinals are willing to trade the No. 4 overall pick, but only if they get the right offer.
“There will be a big neon sign that says ‘open’ and I don’t like it blinking, it messes with my eyes, but we’re always going to be listening,” Arizona’s GM told reporters on Wednesday. “I think we’ll always have the conversation. We may not get to a point where a deal makes sense, whether it’s at [No.] 4 or anywhere we’re picking, but we’re always going to have the conversation. If it makes sense, if it’s attractive to building our team, then it’s something that we’ll certainly consider no matter where we’re at in the draft.”
A month ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, Arizona sits in an interesting spot. Quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are projected to be selected with the top three picks, while it’s been speculated that J.J. McCarthy could be a top-10 pick, if not a top-five selection.
The Cardinals are one of the two teams with a top-six pick who haven’t been linked to a quarterback, as they gave Kyler Murray a pricey five-year extension in 2022. It’s been speculated that the Minnesota Vikings are looking to move into the top five after picking up a second first-round selection last week, and the Cardinals make sense as a trade partner. A possible trade between the two teams would allow the Vikings to draft their replacement for Kirk Cousins while the Cardinals could have three first-round picks to reload their roster following a 4-13 season.
Ossenfort indicated that possible trade talks are still in the exploratory stages.
“I’d say those phone calls are starting to pick up a little bit. I would say they’ll probably continue into next week when we get down to Florida for the owner’s meetings,” Ossenfort said. “I think most teams are in a similar spot to us, and starting to finalize their boards, and the pro day pieces are kinda the final on-field piece for evaluation purposes.
“So I would imagine some of those conversations will continue to pick up, but honestly they probably will not get real serious until we get right up until the week of the draft, similar to last year. They have definitely picked up, but I expect that to continue here for the next month.”
There’s also a pretty big argument against the Cardinals trading the fourth pick. With quarterbacks likely to be the first three players selected, it seems likely the Cardinals will have a chance to grab Marvin Harrison Jr. The Ohio State product has been viewed by some draft evaluators as one of the best receiver prospects since the turn of the century. Harrison would obviously be welcomed by Murray and others in Arizona as the Cardinals let go of two of their top receivers this offseason.
Where does Marvin Harrison Jr. truly rank?
Harrison has taken an unusual approach in the leadup to the NFL Draft, opting not to work out at either the combine or Ohio State’s Pro Day.
“I’m a big fan of the more good information that we can have in the draft process the better. But it’s not going to be the first time that a player doesn’t check off every box for the spring process, it won’t be the last time,” Ossenfort said. “So in Marvin’s case, it’s his decision, what he thought was best for him, and so we respect that. We’ll continue our evaluation process not only on him, but every draft prospect, and we’ll evaluate the best we can with the information that we have.”
The 2024 NFL Draft begins on April 25 and runs through April 27. The Cardinals hold 11 selections, including two first-round picks and six picks in the first three rounds.
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