NFL Draft primer: Cardinals sitting pretty to take Marvin Harrison Jr. — or trade down for another big haul

2023 record: 4-13, missed playoffs

Draft picks per round

1st round: No. 4
1st round: No. 27 (from Texans)
2nd round: No. 35
3rd round: No. 66
3rd round: No. 71 (from Titans)
3rd round: No. 90 (from Texans)
4th round: No. 104
5th round: No. 138
5th round: No. 162 (from Texans)
6th round: No. 186 (from Vikings)
7th round: No. 226 (from Giants)

Top needs

Wide receiver
EDGE
Offensive line

On a team with plenty of needs, wide receiver stands out the most. After the team saw Marquise Brown leave in free agency, there’s no clear No. 1 target in the offense. With the No. 4 overall pick, Arizona will likely get its top choice of a loaded WR class. After that, it can start to fill other gaps at edge rusher, cornerback and offensive line, which it partially addressed with free-agent signings like LB Mack Wilson, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting and OT Jonah Williams.

Best first-round fits

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

Best Day 2 fits

Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

How they did last draft

Our initial A-plus grade probably oversold last year’s draft, but that’s not to say it was a bad haul. First-round pick Paris Johnson Jr. had a solid rookie year at left tackle, second-rounder BJ Ojulari was one of the better rookie edge rushers in the class and third-round WR Michael Wilson consistently made plays downfield. And the team may have found a hidden gem in sixth-round DT Dante Stills, who tallied 3.5 sacks and became a regular starter late in the season.

Dream fantasy draft pick

Marvin Harrison Jr. to Arizona is the clear fantasy dream. Kyler Murray should improve another year removed from knee surgery, and the Cardinals have possibly the thinnest group of wide receivers in the league with Marquise Brown now in Kansas City. Harrison would see a ton of targets right away while playing indoors on a fast-paced offense that ranked top-10 in EPA/play over the second half of last season. Harrison will be the highest-drafted rookie wide receiver in fantasy football history this season by a wide margin. — Dalton Del Don