Leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, there was some speculation that teams were trying to trade up ahead of the Arizona Cardinals to select Marvin Harrison Jr. MHJ ended up being the fourth overall pick, but his overall impact wasn’t quite to the same level as some of his peers drafted after him.
Three receivers and one tight end recorded over 1,000 receiving yards, but Harrison tallied ‘just’ 885 as a rookie. However, now some, including Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, believe the data suggests Harrison is set up to have a huge season in 2025.
“In Arizona, I came across one of the more interesting ideas I can remember hearing about player development. It was the concept that bigger, stronger first-round receivers generally take at least a year to develop, whereas the smaller, faster guys taken that high usually hit the ground running, mostly because they can run by people. This, of course, was in relation to the development of Marvin Harrison Jr.
So I went through and looked it up, looking at bigger-bodied receivers taken in the top 10 of the draft who panned out over the past 20 years. It checks out. Last year, Harrison had 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Drake London, Mike Williams, Micheal Crabtree, Calvin Johnson, Braylon Edwards and Roy Williams all had fewer yards and touchdowns than that as rookies. Meanwhile, Julio Jones (959 yards, eight TDs) and Larry Fitzgerald (780 yards, eight TDs) had very similar Year 1 statistics to Harrison before exploding in Year 2.”
SI’s Albert Breer on MHJ
The Cardinals can’t be too disappointed by a rookie picking up 885 receiving yards. After all, he still was far and above the rest of the Cardinals’ pass-catchers not named Trey McBride last season. The next closest receiver to Harrison was Michael Wilson with 548 yards gained.
Harrison certainly has the pedigree and work ethic to reach his max potential. While he left a few opportunities out there as a rookie, MHJ has returned from the offseason in even better shape than he was a year ago.
All signs point to Harrison having a better season as he continues to build upon the chemistry he gained with Kyler Murray a season ago. Who knows, if the Cardinals’ dynamic duo can get in better sync, Arizona just might make some waves in the NFC West playoff hunt.
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Sports fan since birth. I am also passionate about cars, music, and anything funny. Minnesotan, born and raised. Maybe ... More about Andrew Buller-Russ