As the 2025 NFL season nears its start, Arizona Cardinals duo Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. will look to take a big step in 2025 following somewhat of an underwhelming season in their first year together.
Harrison is coming off a season where he registered 62 catches on 116 targets with 885 yards and eight touchdowns.
While he led the team in touchdowns, Harrison was second on the team in targets behind Pro Bowl tight end Trey McBride’s 147 targets. Harrison’s stats also proved to be a slight disappointment factoring in the expectations he had after being drafted fourth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss says it’s one of the biggest things to watch for the Cardinals headed into the season.
Weinfuss listed Murray and Harrison’s connection as the biggest concern for the Cardinals headed into 2025. He said that where the Cardinals’ offense goes this season will fall solely on the connection between Murray and Harrison.
Will Murray and Harrison be on the same page in 2025? Last season, they completed 54.4% of their targets, but there were noticeable miscommunications. All offseason, coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing have talked about how reps together will improve their continuity on the field and help that quarterback-receiver relationship. How goes the Murray-Harrison connection, so goes the offense.
Weinfuss lists Cardinals’ biggest strength in 2025
Weinfuss listed the ‘ defensive front as the team’s biggest strength headed into the season. He said that the Cardinals’ additions of Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell through free agency and Jordan Burch in the draft present the team with one of its strongest pass rush groups in years.
The Cardinals invested heavily in rebuilding their defensive line and edge rushers, signing pass rusher Sweat and linemen Tomlinson and Campbell, and drafting edge rusher Burch. It has led to the Cardinals having their best and deepest defensive front in some time. But if that front can’t get to the quarterback and stop the run on a regular basis, all the work general manager Monti Ossenfort put in and all the money he spent will have gone for naught.
The Cardinals kick off their season on the road against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 7. Kick-off is at 10 a.m. MST.
Catch the game on the Arizona Sports app and 98.7.