Cardinals rookies get Marvin Harrison Jr. stamp of approval

Before the Arizona Cardinals made Marvin Harrison Jr. the 4^th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the son of the Indianapolis Colts Hall of Famer made a name for himself in Columbus,  setting records and collecting awards for an Ohio State Buckeyes program whose wide receiver pipeline is arguably the best in college football. Those three years spent at Ohio State give Marvin Harrison Jr. firsthand insight on a pair of Cardinals selections from the 2025 NFL Draft.

Arizona double-dipped at cornerback this past April, selecting Will Johnson (47^th overall) and Denzel Burke (174^th overall). This tandem of selections is noteworthy not just because the Cardinals will be hoping each of these first-year players will be able to make an impact during the 2025 season, but also because of where they came from. Johnson (Michigan) and Ward (Ohio State) come to the desert after being part of college football’s most bitter rivalry… a rivalry that Marvin Harrison Jr. knows all about.

And because Harrison has the experience of playing against Denzel Burke in practice and against Will Johnson in The Game, he’s uniquely qualified to speak on what each of these two rookies bring to the table.

“He’s definitely up there as one of the best ones I’ve faced,” Harrison said of Johnson, according to Nash Darragh of the Arizona Daily Sun. “He and Denzel. They’re both here now. So, definitely the top of the line for the corners I faced in college.”

Denzel Burke, who went to high school in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona, arrived at Ohio State in 2021 and was a day one starter for the Buckeyes his freshman year. For three seasons, he and Harrison – and numerous other soon-to-be NFL receivers who called Ohio State home – battled in practices, giving Burke the opportunity to cut his teeth against the best crop of wideouts in college football. Iffy measurements and so-so numbers at the Combine pushed Burke further down draft boards than he probably should’ve gone.

Similarly, Will Johnson went far later in the 2025 NFL Draft than many expected due to lingering injury concerns. Heading into the 2024 season, coming off of a season in which he was named a First-Team All-American and was named the Defensive MVP of the CFP National Championship Game,  Johnson was expected to be the first cornerback off the board the following April. But a turf toe injury limited Johnson to only six games during his junior season, and prevented him from being able to test at the NFL Combine and at Michigan’s Pro Day.

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Now these former college rivals will have to co-exist on a Cardinals defense that will feature plenty of new faces, such as 1st round pick Walter Nolen III, and prized free agency addition Josh Sweat.