I will be interested to see what Marvin Harrison does tomorrow. This will be his first game with a full week of practice. Can he show some sign – any sign – of being more than just a nominal starter?
Coming out of Ohio State, of course, Harrison was viewed as a can’t-miss uber-star – a Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson kind of guy. (The kind of player that the Buckeyes’ current receiving leader, Jeremiah Smith, looks certain to be.) But I think it’s safe to say that ship has sailed.
In hindsight, I think Harrison’s draft stock was inflated by him being the son of perhaps one of the top dozen pass catchers in the history of game. The father had a mastery of route-running, working awfully hard on timing around the end zone with a Hall of Fame quarterback. (In the same vein, the Manning name played a huge role in Arch Manning entering the current college season as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.)
Harrison isn’t a burner. He chose not to run, recall, before the 2024 draft – at either the combine or his Pro Day. It can be debated how fast he can run, but to me, he seems to be average or perhaps slightly below-average in speed in comparison with other starting receivers. (Maybe 4.5 in the 40 seems about right to me.)
I wasn’t crazy about Harrison getting involved in a 10-month pissing match with Fanatics, declining to allow his name and likeness to be used on jerseys and in video games during his rookie season. I would have preferred for him to focus more on actually playing the game.
Harrison is listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, making it seem like he should be physically dominant. but I haven’t seen him coming down with many contested catches. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans kind of guy, where he’s regularly taking away 50-50 balls from defenders.
Harrison wasn’t good for Arizona’s latest coaching staff, catching only 5 of the 13 passes thrown his way, for 85 yards, with 1 TD. (The touchdown came against the Giants, whom he’ll be seeing again tomorrow.)
Now, maybe a change of scenery and a tweaked role ignites him some. I remember Harrison making an great catch against Michigan despite extensive pass interference, in one of his final college games. He was also reportedly clocked at 22 mph on a touchdown against Youngstown State four years ago, which was faster than any pro player ran that year. But that stuff is in the past, and I’m a skeptical guy.
To me, it’s troubling that Arizona’s passing game two years ago got a lot better when he wasn’t playing. When Harrison got hurt that year, Michael Wilson in his first three games in a more featured role averaged 12 catches for 148 yards. Harrison that year averaged 3.4 catches for 51 yards.
There were times in Arizona where Harrison seemed disinterested, perhaps coasting through routes if he didn’t believe the ball was coming his way.
On the plus side, maybe a new environment can spark him, along with being reunited with C.J. Stroud. On his first catch for the Texans (in London), Harrison took a big hit but held on. I will take that as a positive.
At the same time, the Texans have a bunch of other wide receivers. Nico Collins has been elite at times. I am confident he’ll be more productive than Harrison in the vast majority of Houston’s remaining games. And they’ve got others who’ll step up at times – Xavier Hutchinson, Kayshon Boutte, Jaylin Noel and (coming off IR) Tank Dell.
The Texans have 11 games left. I would guess that in about half of those games, Harrison won’t be one of the team’s two leading wide receivers. For those with Harrison, it makes sense to hold onto him, hoping he develops into some. Maybe Collins gets hurt, causing a reshuffling of the receiving roles. But more likely, I think we’re looking at sporadic production here and there. (We’re I controlling his rights in a fantasy league, I be checking around to see if somebody else in the league had higher hopes of him developing into a notable player.)
To get their hands on Harrison, the Texans were willing to give up a second-round pick in next year’s draft. I would guess that when we get to the end of the season, that will be graded by most as a win for the Cardinals.
—Ian Allan
