NFL Draft 2024: Best backup plans if Cardinals miss out on Marvin Harrison Jr.

The Arizona Cardinals own the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and the consensus seems to be that they're going to stay put and draft Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. While that'd certainly be a nice pick for the Cardinals, we all know that crazy things can happen in the draft. What if someone else takes Harrison and he's not on the board by the time the Cardinals are set to make their selection?

Should that be the case, let's look at some other potential options for the Cardinals should the guy they've been attached to all offseason not be available for them to take.

Malik Nabers

If the Cardinals have been linked to Harrison so much that clearly means they could use help at wide receiver. If Harrison isn't on the board, why not go with the second-best receiver in the draft, Malik Nabers?

The LSU wideout had an insane season for the Tigers in 2023, hauling in 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 17.6 yards per catch. Nabers was a freak of an athlete during his final year in Baton Rouge and would still be a nice weapon for Arizona to add if it can't add Harrison.

Joe Alt

Yes, the Cardinals signed Jonah Williams in free agency to play left tackle but taking the best player available is never a bad idea. Joe Alt could give the Cardinals a solid left tackle for the next half decade at the least if this was the route Arizona decided to go in. He started 38 games at left tackle for Notre Dame over the past three years and while rookie linemen can struggle, he could turn into an absolute gem at the position and help protect Kyler Murray for years to come.

Signing Williams shouldn't deter the Cardinals from selecting Alt with the fourth pick if Harrison is gone and he's still there. As we've seen with other teams in the past few years, not having good o-line depth can be detrimental. Why not add help to the offensive line and bolster the unit?

Williams also hasn't had the best track record in the NFL so while he's a nice option to have on the o-line for now, if you can find an upgrade in the draft, why not go for it?

Laiatu Latu

After wide receiver, arguably the biggest need for the Cardinals is at edge and they could address that with Laiatu Latu out of UCLA. The Bruins edge rusher had 13.0 sacks during his final season while also tallying 21.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.

The Cardinals pass rush struggled to do much of anything in 2023 and you'd have to imagine that was hard on Jonathan Gannon, who is a defensive-minded guy. Now he has a chance to help change that by adding a game-changer to the defense in Latu.