Revenge of the Birds
When the Arizona Cardinals selected WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, there were visions of Larry Fitzgerald 2.0 arriving at Tempe, Arizona.
On the offensive side of the ball, the team already had their quarterback in place with Kyler Murray, a stud running back in James Conner, an exceptional pass catching tight end Trey McBride, plus the franchise had spent a high draft pick on improving their offensive line taking OT Paris Johnson in the first round (2023), and had brought in several key rookies in Harrison’s class such as RB Trey Benson, TE Tip Reiman, along with OG Isaiah Adams and OT Christian Jones.
RELATED: AFTER A TOUGH START, HARRISON, JR. DELIVERED
Harrison, Jr. had great size at 6’-3” and a beefy 220 pounds. His father, Marvin Harrison, Sr., is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, voted to eight Pro Bowls, plus is a Super Bowl champion.
Harrison, Jr. had an amazing college career at Ohio State, which is a program known for sending premier pass catchers to the next level. Harrison, Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award given out to the nation’s best receiver. He was a two-time All-Big 10 member and named Unanimous All-American not once, but twice. That is usually reserved for generational players.
Plus, Harrison, Jr. was voted the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year, Big 10 Receiver of the Year, and the conference’s Most Valuable Player.
How could Arizona miss with a player who had so many accolades along with his ancestral pedigree?
No matter how great an athlete is coming out of college, the NFL is a totally different animal. It can chew up and spit out some of the greats – and has. Initially. But it doesn’t have to remain that way. Most times, it takes a few seasons to get fully acclimated to the next level, where guys are bigger, stronger, faster, and aren’t fooled easily.
Defensive backs in the NFL have seen it all. They know almost every trick. A deliberate head bob fake at the college level may have gained a receiver notoriety and fame, but in the Big Boy League, they ain’t taking the bait. Plus, NFL cornerbacks are fast. You run a 4.5 and they run a 4.4.
Harrison, Jr. was thrown the ball a lot in his NFL rookie year: 116 targets to be exact. That is a ton of opportunities to gain yardage. But he caught just 62 balls for 885 yards with a 14.3 yards per reception average.
Is Harrison, Jr.’s first year considered a disappointment?
Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers came into the NFL in 1985 and had 98 targets with 49 catches for 927 yards. Then he ripped off 12 of 13 seasons with over 1,000 yards, including 1,570 in his second season. Green Bay Packers great Don Hutson had a mere 18 receptions for 420 yards...
