Arizona Cardinals, GM Monti Ossenfort 'in the catbird seat' for 2024 NFL Draft
What will the Arizona Cardinals do in the 2024 NFL Draft?
No one knows for sure, but one NFL writer has offered a hint at what the team probably won't do, reporting that Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort will not trade his team's No. 4 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday before it's time for his team to make the selection.
ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote: "Ossenfort has told teams around the league that have inquired about trading up that he wants to wait until he is in position to pick before agreeing to any trade."
That strategy is probably a sound one for the Cardinals GM, with quarterbacks expected to be in high demand at the top of the draft.
Quarterbacks could be selected with the Top 3 picks, leaving Arizona in a great position to potentially trade the No. 4 overall pick to the highest bidder who desperately wants another QB.
Several teams are rumored to be interested in trading up to take a quarterback in the draft.
And if a trade offer to Ossenfort's liking didn't materialize, the general manager could always keep the pick and take wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who is considered by many to be a generational talent.
More: Arizona Cardinals' biggest hits and misses ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft
Cardinals in the 'catbird seat' for 2024 NFL Draft
According to Schefter, one NFL coach called the Cardinals' draft position "the catbird seat."
He wrote: "A team always could try to outbid the market and lock in the selection now, but it’s difficult to give up the haul of compensation it would take without knowing exactly which quarterbacks will be available. And so Ossenfort is sitting, in the eyes of one coach, 'in the catbird seat.' The coach explained: 'He sits at [No.] 4 and can take all the calls he wants.'"
More: Arizona Cardinals readying scenarios for first day of 2024 NFL Draft
2024 NFL mock drafts split on if Cardinals will keep or trade No. 4 pick
Many recent NFL mock drafts have the Cardinals taking Harrison Jr., but many others have them trading the pick for a haul of other draft picks in 2024 and in the future.
NFL.com's Eric Edholm has Arizona trading the pick to the Vikings, who pick Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy.
He wrote: "After Joshua Dobbs was traded from Arizona to Minnesota last season, the Cards and Vikes swap again in this mock projection. Arizona can't turn down two firsts this year (plus, a 2025 middle-round pick sweetener), even with some enticing receivers on the board."
The Arizona Republic's Bob McManaman has the Cardinals taking Harrison Jr. with the pick in his latest mock draft.
He wrote: "GM Monti Ossenfort will likely be tempted with a potential trade he can’t refuse, but since I’ve never projected a trade into any of my mock drafts, I’m not going to start now. This could, however, be the landing spot for McCarthy, or possibly Maye. I know one thing for certain: Every Cardinals fan is curious to see what Kyler Murray could do with a playmaker such as Harrison Jr."
No one is certain what will happen in the 2024 NFL Draft, but it appears like the Arizona Cardinals could be right in the middle of the action.
More: Cardinals in 'set-your-franchise-up situation' in NFL draft, says analyst Daniel Jeremiah
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals won't trade NFL Draft pick before draft, report says
