Marvin Harrison was one of the greatest receivers of his era. He caught 128 touchdowns, most of them from Peyton Manning, made eight Pro Bowls, led the NFL in receiving yards twice, helped the Indianapolis Colts win a Super Bowl, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
And Marvin Harrison Jr. is an even better prospect as he enters the NFL.
There haven’t been many receiver prospects better than Harrison. He was selected fourth overall in the NFL Draft on Thursday night. His father was the 19th pick of the 1996 NFL Draft.
Harrison is an exciting rookie. He checks just about every box imaginable.
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Marvin Harrison Jr.’s upside as a prospect
The biggest difference between Harrison and his Hall of Fame father is size.
Harrison was an even 6-feet tall and 185 pounds. Harrison Jr. is 6-3, 209 pounds, which is closer to the prototype for an NFL receiver. That’s why Harrison Jr. has drawn so many comparisons to A.J. Green, a seven-time Pro Bowler who was a top-five pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 Draft.
Harrison made up for his lack of ideal size with astonishing quickness and expert route running. Harrison Jr. picked up plenty from his dad, because he is already a very good route runner.
Harrison Jr.’s production is also excellent. He had 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022. Then he lost quarterback C.J. Stroud and put up 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist.
There weren’t many knocks on Harrison, even though he didn’t work out at the NFL scouting combine and skipped his media availability, too. Harrison profiles as a can’t-miss prospect and there was little doubt he’d hear his name called early in Thursday night’s NFL Draft. If his career is anywhere near as good as his father’s, it’ll be a home run pick.
Cardinals get an exciting receiver
Harrison joins a Cardinals team that is short on talent overall, but has a viable quarterback.
Kyler Murray has a new top weapon to work with. Harrison is the Cardinals’ first star receiver since Larry Fitzgerald retired, and he’ll immediately be the team’s top target in the passing game.
The Cardinals presumably had opportunities to trade down and gather extra picks, but they stayed at No. 4 and took the first non-quarterback to be selected in this year’s draft. The Cardinals didn’t want to pass on the chance to take a special prospect.
