The Arizona Cardinals used the No. 4 overall pick on Marvin Harrison Jr. only two years ago. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t believe that should stop them from potentially going right back to Ohio State for another wide receiver.
In ESPN’s early 2027 NFL mock draft with Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates, Kiper had Arizona selecting Buckeyes star Jeremiah Smith with the No. 4 overall pick.
Even with quarterbacks expected to dominate the conversation at the top of the draft, Kiper made his reasoning simple.
“Jeremiah Smith is the number one player on the board. The quarterbacks aren’t number one,” Kiper said.
For a Cardinals team that may still have questions at quarterback next offseason, that would create a fascinating decision.
Cardinals Predicted to Pair Jeremiah Smith With Harrison
Smith has been viewed as one of college football’s premier players since arriving at Ohio State. Kiper’s projection would put him in the same Arizona receiving corps as Harrison, another former Buckeyes star and No. 4 overall pick.
Harrison entered the NFL with enormous expectations but has yet to deliver the type of production Arizona hoped for when it made him the first non-quarterback selected in 2024.
He caught 62 passes for 885 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. His second season was limited to 12 games, with Harrison finishing with 41 receptions for 608 yards and four touchdowns.
That history didn’t deter Kiper from doubling down at the position.
During the discussion, Kiper pointed to the Detroit Lions‘ infamous run of first-round wide receivers in the 2000s as an example of why a team shouldn’t pass on an elite prospect simply because it has already invested heavily at the position.
Detroit selected Charles Rogers No. 2 overall in 2003, Roy Williams No. 7 in 2004 and Mike Williams No. 10 in 2005. None became the franchise-changing receiver Detroit was seeking.
Then came Calvin Johnson.
The Lions selected Johnson No. 2 overall in 2007, meaning Detroit had used four top-10 picks on wide receivers in five drafts. NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling later described Johnson as the selection where Detroit finally “hit the jackpot.”
Johnson became a Hall of Famer, made six Pro Bowls and finished his career with 11,619 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns.
Carson Beck Could Change Cardinals’ Draft Decision
There is still one major variable in Kiper’s projection.
Arizona used the first pick of the third round in the 2026 NFL Draft on Carson Beck after his college career at Georgia and Miami. Cardinals.com’s Zach Gershman noted Beck brought 43 college starts with him to Arizona when the team drafted him.
Kiper said Beck’s performance this season could make passing on a quarterback for Smith much easier to justify.
If Beck “shows enough,” Kiper said, the possibility of Arizona taking Smith rather than one of the top quarterbacks becomes considerably more intriguing.
That gives the Cardinals an entire season to learn whether Beck can become more than a developmental third-round selection.
If he gives Arizona reason to believe he can eventually take over the offense, Smith would offer another potentially elite weapon to pair with Harrison.
If Beck doesn’t, quarterback could become much harder to bypass with a top-five pick.
Kiper’s projection is therefore about more than creating an Ohio State reunion in Arizona. It’s also a bet that the best player available could prove too talented for the Cardinals to pass up, regardless of what they have already spent at the position.
Cardinals Predicted to Land 6-Foot-3 WR to Push Marvin Harrison Jr.