As the 2023 college football season kicked off in late August and early September, it was clear that Marvin Harrison Jr. was the best receiver in the nation. The Ohio State star had demonstrated excellent hands, route-running ability, the courage to come through in the clutch and a certain level of confidence that fewer players can ever approach.

Maybe some of that came from being the son of NFL great Marvin Harrison, who made it to the Hall of Fame as Peyton Manning's favorite receiver with the Indianapolis Colts. But there was no doubt that Marvin Harrison Jr. had incredible ability of his own, and the son played a different kind of game than his father.

Marvin Harrison Sr. had a brilliant career

For one thing, the younger Harrison is a bigger and stronger man than his father, and that led to a different approach to the game. As talented as Marvin Harrison Sr. was during his long career, he regularly would look to find the open spot on the field and go down after making the catch if he did not think he could get away from the defender. Another one of his tactics was running out of bounds and getting away from serious contact.

No, the older Harrison did not lack courage during his 13-year career. However, he was not the most physical wide receiver the game has ever seen at 6-0 and 185 pounds. He made sure he was going to survive each play and that he could get up and do even more damage on his next reception.

Harrison Jr. played at 6-3 and 209 pounds during his highlight-laden career with the Buckeyes. He more than lived up to his reputation as the best receiver in the nation in each of the last two seasons.

He caught  77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022 and he followed that with 67-1,211-14 last year.

Cardinals draft a future star in Marvin Harrison Jr.

The 2024 NFL Draft has a chance to go down in history as the greatest quarterback draft in league history. The 1983 draft holds that title now, as it featured three Hall of Famers in John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly along with three other solid quarterbacks in Ken O'Brien, Todd Blackledge and Tony Eason.

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were selected with the first three picks in the 2024 Draft, while Michael Penix, J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix were all drafted by the 12th pick. Harrison was the first non-quarterback to come off the board when he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 4 pick overall.

The Cardinals have a legitimate game-changing quarterback in Kyler Murray. He has had some injury issues throughout his first five years in the NFL, but he has demonstrated enough talent and athletic ability to get the job done in elite fashion as long as he can stay healthy.

Murray has needed more of a support system with the Cardinals, and they did not have enough talent in recent years, and Harrison will go a long way towards changing that for the quarterback.

Murray had a great receiver on his side in the 2020 season when the Cardinals acquired DeAndre Hopkins. He caught 115 passes that season for 1,407 yards and 6 touchdowns, and he was basically able to come down with everything that Murray threw.

There's a belief that Harrison can give Murray a very similar target that Hopkins did when he was at the top of his game.

Marvin Harrison Jr. compares to DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones

Harrison is a tall receiver who can play a big man's game. In addition to having the size and strength to win the battle for the ball with physical defenders, he has great hands, know-how and more than enough speed to be dangerous on a regular basis.

Harrison does not qualify as an elite burner because he is not a 4.2 guy when he runs the 40. He is just a tick above that in the high 4.3 range. However, don't make the mistake of thinking he is slow — because that would simply be wrong.

Hopkins has demonstrated exceptional skills throughout his career, while Jones has been a remarkable playmaker throughout his 13-year career. His best year came in 2015 for the Falcons when he he caught a remarkable 136-1,871-8 and he was nearly as good in 2018 when he totaled 113-1,677-8.

Harrison has the same kind of hunger to make big plays as a receiver as both Hopkins and Jones. Similar to both of those stars, once he gets his hands on the ball and makes his first few catches in a game, his hunger grows. He is not satisfied with one or two key plays. He wants to dominate when he is on the field.

If the Cardinals can protect Murray this year and bring in at least one or two more supporting players on the offensive side of the ball, Harrison will have a chance to be a star from the start of his rookie season.