Insider Details Cardinals' Pre-Draft Visits With Marvin Harrison Jr.

The Arizona Cardinals fell in love with Marvin Harrison Jr. - here's how.

May 10, 2024; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during rookie / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. hasn't taken an official snap for the organization, though he's already impressing everybody around him.

The Cardinals selected Harrison with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, refuting trade-down speculation and walking away with the consensus top prospect who wasn't a quarterback.

Now, Kyler Murray has a brand new target to connect with, and it's clear Arizona coveted Harrison from way before he was draft eligible.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer detailed the scouting process of Harrison from Arizona's perspective.

After highlighting how Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort has kept an eye on Harrison since before Ossenfort was in the desert, Breer offered this on the last few meetings Arizona had leading into the draft:

"The combine meeting was, more or less, a simple meet-and-greet. Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon spent 18 minutes with him, and wanted to get to know him. What they learned was, first and foremost, that he wasn’t loud and boisterous, or seeking attention, like a lot of guys at his position. They also saw how detailed of a plan he had for everything football-wise, and how his handling of the pre-draft process was just an example of it. He asked the Cardinals if they needed to see anything at his pro day. They said no."

- Albert Breer

If you recall, Harrison didn't do anything at the 2024 NFL Combine other than meet with teams, which was ultimately by design. Harrison received plenty of flack for his decision, though it ultimately was the right move.

"Next up was the 30 visit. With Harrison coming from Los Angeles and his 30 visit with the Chargers, Ossenfort and assistant GM Dave Sears kicked things off with dinner at Steak 44 in Paradise Valley. They didn’t plan to talk scheme, or really football at all. Instead, they just wanted to talk life. But things did eventually turn back to the game, with Harrison taking Ossenfort and Sears through his daily life, his plan for being a pro and his (lofty) goals."

- Albert Breer

Harrison reportedly only took visits with the Chicago Bears and Cardinals, so the Los Angeles Chargers being listed was a bit of a surprise, though it shouldn't be considering they picked right behind the Cardinals at No. 5 and would have been major players for the Ohio State wideout.

"As for the actual visit itself at the facility, that happened the next day. The Cardinals basically wanted to mimic what an in-season Wednesday would be like for Harrison, minus the on-field stuff. Over the course of a six-hour day, he met with position coaches, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and head coach Jonathan Gannon to go through an install, then met with the sports science folks and trainers before coming back to the coaches at the end of the day to be tested on the aforementioned install. He aced the process."

- Albert Breer

After officially making Harrison a Cardinal, Ossenfort told reporters this when asked about his visit with the team:

"When that day concluded I felt pretty convicted about who Marvin was. I was already convicted about who Marvin was as a player. After that day, (I was) convicted of who he was as a person," said Ossenfort.

"To me, that was a big day for me just as we went through the process of figuring out who we were going to pick at number four. Really, it just goes back to the way he handled himself, the way he conducted himself and the way he had prepared at Ohio State. Really it was the full package. That day was huge for us and really huge for me personally in just getting to spend that time with him and him getting that time with the rest of our staff.”

It feels like Harrison was the target all along, and the Cardinals indeed got their guy.