The door is closed on the 2024 NFL draft, and while the results won’t truly to be known for a few years down the road for all 32 teams, it’s clear the Arizona Cardinals came prepared with an obvious plan in place and then execute it to a high level.
We’ve heard general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon talk tirelessly about team-first players with character, and it shows itself when the cards are turned in for the selections.
Even with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., whose talent is there for everyone can see, Ossenfort emphasized how his 30-visit was instrumental.
“The whole day, you really get to get a good feel for who those guys are as people,” he said. “I would say with Marvin, just maturity, accountability and dependability. I’d say he checks all those boxes and he’s been around football his whole life and I think just really excited about the way he approaches his job and how he’s gone about it.”
Asked specifically what sold him on Harrison, Ossenfort said, “His overall focus. 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. 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 No. 4.
“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.”
Of course, the Cardinals had 11 other picks in the three days of the draft and it’s impressive to know that eight players have degrees and five of those have their Master’s or are pursuing that advanced degree.
The latter includes defensive lineman Darius Robinson, cornerbacks Elijah Jones and Jaden Davis, linebacker Xavier Thomas and tackle Christian Jones. The others are guard Isaiah Adams, tight end Tip Reiman and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.
Many of the players are also older. Elijah Jones turned 24 in January, Christian Jones will be 24 on May 12 and Thomas will be 25 next December.
Said Thomas, “Education has always been important to me since I was a kid. My mom always instilled that into me. I got my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice early. I got it in three years because I expected to be a three-and-out guy, but I had a reset (after COVID in 2020) and I had a couple of years to spend. I didn’t want to just play football those years. I wanted to at least take advantage of those opportunities while I was still there, so I went ahead and got my master’s.”
Davis began his college career at Oklahoma, got his undergrad degree and after transferring to Miami started his Master’s pursuit.
He said, “I was only there for six months because I transferred after spring. You go to a bowl game and then from January to pretty much now you’re busy, so I wasn’t able to keep on pursuing that during this time period, but this offseason I plan on getting my Master’s in liberal studies.”
Christian Jones also credited his mom with his educational advancement. He said, “I wasn’t able to go outside until I was finished with my summer workbooks growing up, so my mom; she runs a very tight (ship). If I got anything under a B, I would be in some serious trouble, so that came from my parents, their background and their importance on education. It definitely helped me a whole lot because I was working like crazy and it got to the point where school; I wouldn’t say it became easier, but I was able to learn faster because I’ve done all these booklets and all these different kind of exercises since I was a kid, so a big shout out to them.
“Getting the master’s was definitely a great moment to see my family and to be able to come back home and to see it hanging up on the wall is amazing.”
Ossenfort insisted it wasn’t necessarily a priority to seek players with more life experience and degrees, and said “It just worked out way.” However, he did add, “The intelligence is good. The master’s degrees, that’s good. Maybe they can teach us something when they get here. No, I’d say that’s probably dumb luck that it worked out that way. It’s just the way the board happened to fall. Obviously, the smarter the players, the better.”
When asked if it’s actually “dumb luck” or if it reflects on the type of people the Cardinals pursue, he said, “I think in general, the more intelligent the player, the better. I think that’s what led them (here) and checked some more boxes for us. That they’ve been that far in school was a bonus. I think JG and I have been pretty clear on what he likes to say is the ‘price of admission,’ but intelligence is a big one there. It’s good that a lot of these guys check — if not all of them — check those boxes.”
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