2024 NFL Mock Draft: Cardinals make first-round trade, get shocking value
By Ryan Heckman
Leading into the 2024 NFL Draft, no one yet knows just what the Arizona Cardinals plan to do with that no. 4 pick.
They could certainly stand pat.
They could also trade the pick for a tremendous haul.
In our latest mock, the Cards make a trade, yet somehow still end up with incredible value.
The Cardinals kick off this 2024 mock draft by trading with the New York Giants
First Round trade
After making a deal with New York, somehow, the Cardinals still have the chance at Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
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In this mock, four quarterbacks went in the first four picks, and then the Los Angeles Chargers opted for Malik Nabers at no. 5 overall. That leaves the Cardinals still getting their shot at the best wide receiver in this draft class.
Kyler Murray gets a 6-foot-4 unicorn of a prospect who is as NFL-ready as any wide receiver has been over the last 20 years. Harrison is going to give this offense exactly what it's been missing since prime Larry Fitzgerald. Harrison is a bonafide superstar ready to take the NFL by storm, and Murray is going to love having him as the featured weapon in this offense.
There may not be a more polished, complete wide receiver to come out of college in the past two decades, and despite the Chargers taking Nabers beforehand, the Cardinals still got the best receiver in the draft, here.
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Later in the first round at pick no. 27 (courtesy of the Houston Texans) the Cardinals land the best interior offensive lineman in this class, going with Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson. The Cardinals now have the center position locked down for several years to come, and continue building around Murray under center.
Powers-Johnson is an absolute mauler. He's good in both pass protection and run blocking, but this guy is not someone to mess with in a phone booth. In short spaces, he'll wreck opposing defensive linemen. He does not get beat often, but rather he's the one pounding his opposition into the ground until the whistle blows.