Meet Marvin Harrison Jr. the former Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver who was the Arizona Cardinals number four pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals' selection confirms without any doubt they are still committed to investing in their 2019 1st overall pick, Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray. Murray has finished the previous three seasons playing fewer than 16 games for Arizona and, outside of DeAndre Hopkins spending two seasons with the team, the Cardinals have not adequately surrounded him with playmakers. Harrison is arguably the most NFL-ready prospect in this entire draft, and he's the top wide receiver prospect since Ja'Marr Chase in 2021.
Harrison Jr. joins a bare Cardinals receiver room that is in desperate need of a No. 1 pass catcher. The Cardinals only bring back Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch at the position from last season after losing Murray's former Oklahoma teammate, Marquise Brown, to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.
Wilson and Dortch combined for 62 receptions, 845 yards, and five touchdowns in 2023. For Murray to succeed as the Cardinals quarterback, he's going to need production output like that from his No. 2, or more ideally, his No. 3 wide receiver. Harrison's last season alone produced 67 receptions for 1,211 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, which earned him the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver in the nation and his second straight unanimous NCAA first-team All-American selection.
Marvin Harrison Jr. excels no matter who he is playing with or against
This draft possesses one of the deepest wide receiver classes since 2021, but the crown jewel of this class is Harrison, who along with his catalog of accomplishments possesses a unique pedigree: An NFL Hall of Fame father.
Harrison is the son of one of the greatest wide receivers of the 21st century, 2016 1st Ballot Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison Sr., who from 1996-2008 was routinely in the best wide receiver conversations in the NFL amongst generational talent Hall of Famers like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
On the Indianapolis Colts alongside 2020 Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James and six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne, this group formed one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL in the early 2000s with Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning throwing them the ball. It's a rare sight to see, and this might be one of the first times in sports history that a Hall of Fame father has produced a potential Hall of Fame son. That's how high people are on Marvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison has all of the classic No. 1 alpha wide receiver physical traits, standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 209 pounds, which are bigger measurements than even his father, who was a nightmare mismatch himself for defenses in his heyday despite only being 6 feet, 185 pounds.
Also like his father, the younger Harrison is a smooth route runner with a complete route tree, strong hands, and catch radius to go along with elite ball tracking ability. He combines his elite leaping ability with great physical strength to play through contact and make contested catches with defenders draped all over him.
Harrison isn't a burner by any means and this might be the only area besides blocking where he needs some improvement. But he can beat most defensive secondaries as he possesses good speed, especially top acceleration. He's a threat at the point of attack as well as after the catch.
Harrison's star shined brightest when it mattered most, as he produced versus all the top secondaries in college football the past two seasons. He garnered a career-high 185 receiving yards on ten catches in a 44-31 victory vs. Penn State in 2022, and he was mostly matched up against 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers second-round pick cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the son of former Pro Bowler Joey Porter Sr. himself.
He also won his matchups versus the 2023 San Francisco third-round pick, safety Ji'Ayir Brown, and 2024 sixth-round pick, cornerback Kalen King. Harrison caught five passes for 106 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone versus the best secondary in the nation that season, the defending champions Georgia, in the Peach Bowl of the 2022 College Football Playoffs.
In 2023, versus their historic rivals and the current national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, despite being double-teamed at various times of the game, Harrison collected five catches for 118 receiving yards and a touchdown against the best secondary in the nation that included several top NFL prospects.
Harrison is almost guaranteed to produce regardless of the caliber of the competition against him. He has talent you can't teach, but also a seasoned approach to his game that is rare for a player his age.
To further support how high the expectations on Harrison, he has been compared to future Hall of Fame wide receivers like Julio Jones, A.J. Green, and Larry Fitzgerald. The latter enjoyed a Hall of Fame career in Arizona and was the Cardinals first round selection as the third overall pick in one of the deepest drafts ever in 2004.
The “lowest” comparison that Harrison has accumulated is Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb who led the NFL in receptions with 135 and was second in receiving yards with 1,749. Expect Murray to return to Pro Bowl form with Harrison Jr. enjoying a Pro Bowl-caliber rookie campaign like his former teammate Stroud did.
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