In a landmark draft decision, the Arizona Cardinals selected Marvin Harrison at No. 4, making him the first non-quarterback to be picked.
The conviction behind this choice? Absolute faith in the player’s prowess, articulated by Monti Ossenfort, the team"s General Manager.
Monti Ossenfort, in a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, revealed the reasoning behind the team"s risk in picking Harrison, apparently having seen "more than enough" to be convinced.
Monti Ossenfort: We had "more than enough" info on Marvin Harrison to pick him at No. 4. https://t.co/dCuY6hSvny
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 1, 2024
Ossenfort emphasized that Harrison’s approach to the draft process was indeed unique but equally successful, contributing significantly to their comfort in opting for him.
The Cardinals made it a point to observe Harrison while exercising at C.J. Stroud’s Pro Day. The footage generated from this encounter provided the missing pieces to their final decision.
Ossenfort pointed out that not every draft prospect ticks off all the boxes, for varied reasons. These aforementioned uncertainties have, however, never deterred the team from completing evaluations.
Ossenfort assured that this was not the first or last case where a firm decision would have been taken without every query answered.
"Yeah, I’d say with Marvin, a unique case. He made the decisions that he made to approach the draft process like he did," Ossenfort said. "But you’re right, we did get a good look at him working out — we had that tape from last year when he ran routes at C.J. Stroud’s Pro Day, so we did check that box. And I think there’s a number of prospects in every draft that don’t check off every box — whether it’s for a medical reason or a personal choice, whatever it is, they may not complete a workout or they may not do everything like everybody else does. So, it wasn’t the first time that we’ve had to complete an evaluation on a player without every box filled and it’s certainly not going to be the last.
"But we felt very strongly about our evaluation of Marvin off the tape, off of last year’s Pro Day. And then what really sealed it for us was when Marvin came in for a [top] 30 visit and we got to spend an entire day with him and just really find out who the person was, what made him tick, and just the way he approached his job. So, you know, we had plenty to evaluate Marvin on and certainly more than enough to pull his card off the board at No. 4."
Harrison played an impressive three seasons at Ohio State, recording 2,613 yards with 31 touchdowns from 155 catches.
His 2023 season proved illustrative of his proficiency, with 67 catches, 1,211 yards, and 14 touchdowns scored in just 12 games.
