Can Marvin Harrison Jr. Live Up To the Hype In Year 2?
Can Marvin Harrison Jr. Live Up To the Hype In Year 2? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
There was just no way for Marvin Harrison Jr. to live up to the expectations that followed him into his first season in the NFL.
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The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Harrison's dad already has a gold jacket playing the same position, which had many measuring Junior for his own before he had even played at down in the league.
Instead, Harrison's modest rookie campaign in the NFL featured 62 receptions for 882 yards and eight touchdown catches, averaging 52 yards per game. He finished fifth in receiving yards among his fellow rookies, trailing Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey.
On the latest episode of "Best Podcast Available," I sat down with Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Sports (and the guru behind the fantastic "Reception Perception" profiles that track and project wide receiver success) to break down Harrison's rookie season, and what we can expect from him in Year 2 and beyond.
"There was just an obnoxious level of expectation put on him," Harmon said of Harrison's rookie season. "He was coming off the board as a Round 1-2 turn pick (in fantasy drafts), so he would have needed to have Puka Nacua's record-breaking rookie season in order to pay off that ADP. There was always gonna be a really high bar for him to not come in as a mild disappointment."
Harrison had a solid rookie season, but it didn't meet the sky-high preseason expectations.Joe Rondone/The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK
There's never just one reason why a player doesn't live up to the hype right away, but while there's plenty of blame to go around, Harrison has some obvious areas that need growth heading into Year 2.
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"I think as a player, he does deserve part of the blame there, but I think you have to split this pie of blame into at least three slices," Harmon said. "For Harrison's part, he showed out really well against press coverage, getting off the line of scrimmage. I thought he generally worked zone coverage over the middle of the field and on out-breaking routes really well. That intermediate was a good spot where he separated, but he was average to below-average on 9 (go) routes and curl routes. And you saw that when you watched him play. He doesn't really have the speed to challenge you vertically down the field, and he also struggles a little bit working back to the quarterback and playing physical football."
"There are guys who are really good starting receivers in the NFL where I could throw out that same criticism across their entire careers, but if you want to get to that true elite status . . . which, if you take someone at No. 4 overall, you're certainly hoping that eventually, he gets into that group . . . you want him to play a bit more physical working back to the football, and in contested catch situations, in particular," Harmon continued.
Harrison's areas of struggle as a rookie didn't come as much of a surprise, though, as they were the same ones that showed up on his college tape for those who looked deep enough into a player who was billed as as near-flawless prospect.
Improving his physicality at the catch point should be a point of emphasis for Harrison in Year 2.Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
"His contested-catch rate was just really poor, which I actually wrote about in his prospect profile (heading into the 2024 draft), that this was like a minor critique of his game. I undersold it," Harmon admitted. "It was actually a major problem in his first season. That doesn't mean it's gonna be forever."
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The rest of the "blame pie," as Harmon put it, goes to other variables that aren't changing for Harrison and the Cards in 2025.
For starters, he'll have the same offensive coordinator in Drew Petzig, who didn't exactly set Harrison up for success when it came to his alignments and usage last season.
"I just didn't love the deployment for him," Harmon said. "He was one of those purely outside/on the line of scrimmage type of receivers. All of the best receivers in the NFL, those Tier 1 guys, none of them get deployed that way anymore. These guys are moving around the formation, they're playing in the slot more, they're getting work off the line of scrimmage. There was almost none of that for Harrison in his first season."
"Hopefully, after seeing him for a year, they can alter that deployment."
Kyler Murray can help Harrison by improving his consistency when throwing over the middle.Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
Then there's Kyler Murray, who will be back behind center for Arizona this season. At 5-9, Murray's small stature makes it a challenge to find consistent success throwing over the middle, where Harrison does his best work.
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"I just don't know that their games perfectly overlap," Harmon said. "Harrison's best route, and the one he ran most often, was the dig route. He's really good working over the middle of the field. We can talk around it, but Kyler's a shorter quarterback. He doesn't see those plays all that well."
Harrison clearly has all the talent to become a superstar pass-catcher at the next level, but his ceiling will always be limited to a degree by the help he gets from his supporting cast. While there are ways to improve individually which Harrison can control, he'll have to rely on Petzig and Murray to pull their weight in the equation if he wants to take a big leap in Year 2 and start delivering on those lofty predraft expectations.
"A lot has to change for him to take that next step after his rookie season, beyond the fact that Harrison himself has to get slightly better as a player," Harmon said. "I don't have too many concerns about him as a player, but the environment is worth discussing."
To check out the entire conversation, including a deep dive on the rest of the 2024 receiver class following Year 1, watch the entire episode of BPA:
Related: Can Caleb Williams and the Bears Shock the NFC North in 2025?
Related: What In the World Is Going On With the Saints?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
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