Cardinals GM says trade calls for No. 4 overall pick are heating up
USC quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina QB Drake Maye and LSU QB Jayden Daniels are expected to be the top three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
This makes the Arizona Cardinals, who select fourth overall, a prime trade-back candidate for any team looking to move up should one of those top three QBs fall or grab Michigan signal caller J.J. McCarthy.
And while the prospect of drafting star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. fourth overall is certainly appealing to Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort, he also made it clear he’s open for business if other GMs want to pitch him on moving back.
“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,” Ossenfort told reporters on Wednesday. “I think we'll always have the conversation. We may not get to a point where a deal makes sense…but we're always going to have the conversation, and 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.”
Teams that could be interested in trading up with Arizona include the New York Giants, who pick sixth; the Minnesota Vikings, who have the No. 11 and 23rd overall picks; the Denver Broncos, who pick 12th; and the Las Vegas Raiders, who own the No. 13 overall pick.
Arizona’s biggest need is receiver after losing Marquise Brown and Chris Moore to free agency, so staying put and grabbing Harrison Jr., who’s arguably the best WR prospect in the last decade, is probably Ossenfort’s preferred course of action.
However, he admitted he’s been fielding an increasing number of calls about the fourth overall pick lately, and moving back is an option if it helps him fill the many other holes on the Cardinals roster.
“I'd say those phone calls are starting to pick up a little bit,” Ossenfort added. “I would say they'll probably continue into next week. … 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.”
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