Arizona Cardinals' recent moves clear path to draft Marvin Harrison Jr., seek edge rusher

The Arizona Cardinals’ decision to release left tackle D.J. Humphries, which was almost immediately followed by news they had agreed to terms with tackle Jonah Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals on a two-year contract, seemingly makes two of their next moves abundantly clear.

One, they have freed enough extra money to reel in the edge rusher they so desperately need. (More on that later).

And two, they now can zero in completely on selecting former Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft.

It’s becoming more and more apparent that quarterbacks will be drafted first, second and third by the Bears, Commanders and Patriots, respectively. Chicago, ready to select USC’s Caleb Williams, is searching for a trade partner for quarterback Justin Fields. Washington and New England, meanwhile, have each traded away their starting QBs — Sam Howell going from the Commanders to the Seahawks and Mac Jones getting dealt from the Patriots to the Jaguars.

It clears the way for them to draft LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who will go second and third in one order or another.

That, by all accounts, should leave the door wide open for the Cardinals to draft Harrison, the 6-foot-3 superstar son of former longtime Colts receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr. The younger Harrison is exactly what the Arizona offense needs. He’s a clear-cut No. 1 wideout with all the skills and reminds a lot of folks of former Cardinals great Larry Fitzgerald.

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He’s a playmaker, a fierce competitor and he can help quarterback Kyler Murray get back to Pro Bowl status and help return the franchise into a winning contender.

Signing Williams to start at tackle opposite Paris Johnson Jr., regardless of where they line up, takes the temptation away from General Manager Monti Ossenfort to possibly consider a tackle at No. 4, such as Joe Alt from Notre Dame, Taliese Fuaga of Oregon State or Olu Fashanu from Penn State.

As it stands right now, about the only thing that would prevent Arizona from landing MHJ would be a quarterback-needy team trying to trade up to No. 4 to get Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy — or Oregon’s Bo Nix, perhaps — and Ossenfort agreeing to a deal that surely would bring back a nice haul to the Cardinals.

But if it means trading back to spots 11, 12 or 13 with either the Vikings, Broncos or Raiders, Ossenfort shouldn’t do it — regardless of what draft pick compensation Arizona might be offered.

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Trading back seven, eight or nine spots doesn’t just mean the Cardinals will lose out on Harrison. They’d probably also lose out on the other two top receivers ranked right behind him, Rome Odunze from Washington and Malik Nabers from LSU.

Not only that, but the draft’s top two defensive players — Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold and Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner — will likely also be gone before Arizona can make its first pick.

Since there’s no guarantee the Cardinals could get one of the top two or three players they truly covet, they’d be better staying right where they are at No. 4, happily selecting the marquee prospect in Harrison, and then considering all their options with their next two picks, No. 27 in the first and No. 35 overall, the third pick in the second round.

Releasing Humphries, meanwhile, frees up $16 million in salary cap space. The Cardinals can use a chunk of that to sign a pass rusher at either defensive end or outside linebacker. Since the team designated the Humphries’ release as a post-June 1 cut, Ossenfort might have to get creative if he intends to add an edge man right away.

Possible candidates still available as of Thursday afternoon included Chase Young (49ers), Jadeveon Clowney (Ravens), Kyle Van Noy (Ravens), and Emmanuel Ogbah (Dolphins). Considering the majority of elite edge rushers have already found a home by either re-signing with their own team or signing elsewhere, the Cardinals might opt for a pass rusher in the draft.

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They could use the extra cap room from Humphries’ release and from what they still have available overall to do something else: Bring back wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on either a one-year prove-it deal or a team-friendly multi-year contract.

They would still draft Harrison but at least the receiver room — and the two starting tackle spots — would be secured and in pretty good shape.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals clear way to draft Marvin Harrison Jr., seek edge rusher