Latest developments around Marvin Harrison Jr. might be just what the former Ohio State star needs for his NFL career
Arizona Cardinals and former Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is back to full health with a new offensive role expected under new head coach Mike LaFleur to hopefully finally maximize his NFL potential.
Since being drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals have struggled to maximize the NFL potential of former Ohio State standout Marvin Harrison Jr.
Part of the issue has been injuries that plagued Harrison’s sophomore season and part of it has been the offensive system in Arizona not being able to utilize Harrison in the best fashion.
Things are shaping up to change for the better for Harrison and the Cardinals’ offense now that he’s getting back to full health with a new offensive minded head coach in Mike LaFleur, who knows exactly how to utilize his top pass catcher.
Mike LaFleur looking to replicate a similar approach at WR with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson
LaFleur arrives to Arizona after spending the last two years in the NFC West as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay. This will be a second chance for LaFleur to run an offense of his own and first opportunity to lead an entire team that’s eager to make some kind of forward progress.
While McVay was the mastermind behind the Rams’ offense, LaFleur played an integral role in the unit’s success, which featured two top wide receivers last season in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. LaFleur plans to run a similar approach in Arizona with Harrison and Michael Wilson.
“With Marv, typically with the X-receiver – let’s just say Davante Adams last year in LA or Julio Jones in Atlanta Falcons – those typical X-guys, they’re not necessarily next to the core very often in terms of playing in between the tight ends and in between the tackles,” LaFleur said. “You look at more a Z-receiver, a Mike Wilson, who’s a little more compact of a guy, those guys are a little more comfortable playing [inside]. You think of Puka Nacua.”
Coming out of the draft, Harrison was compared closely to big-bodied X-receivers such as Julio and AJ Green. He doesn’t have the same release and footwork that makes Adams so dangerous, but the size is comparable between the two. And it’s not just using Harrison on the outside as a traditional X-receiver, LaFleur has other plans for Harrison as well.
“His profile would be that of a typical X-receiver. Just kind of that lengthier body that can play on the outside,” LaFleur explained. “But, what’s unique about this system is you can move them inside and outside on a whim. Just in terms of our formations, our motions, all that kind of stuff. You can utilize your skill sets in different ways. So, (Harrison) is our X-receiver, but you can move him around so that sometimes he is, sometimes he’s not.”
That kind of usage will be refreshing for Harrison – along with fans and fantasy owners – after he ran 80 percent of his routes out-wide during his first two seasons. Moving him around the formation from time to time will also prevent teams from isolating him on the outside against a top cover corner.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is ready to put his 2025 injury issues behind him
The main thing for Harrison, however, is staying healthy after missing five games last season due to a concussion, appendicitis, and two different heel injuries. The latter being something Harrison continues to stay cautious about.
“The thing with your feet, you use them all the time. That makes the process take probably a little longer than maybe usually,” Harrison told reporters on Tuesday. “But, obviously, it’s definitely nothing that prevents me from anything at the moment. I go 100 percent. I’m still out there doing everything I normally would do, but yeah, it’s just like an ongoing process for sure.”
With all of those issues, Harrison felt like he “couldn’t really catch a break last year” after recording 885 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. Harrison rarely dealt with injuries during his time at Ohio State, so the extended stint on the sideline was a frustrating experience for him.
“Staying on the sideline, I mean, that definitely sucked for almost half the year basically,” Harrison added. “So I wouldn’t say light a fire, it just makes you appreciate the game more. You want to be out there, you want to be with your teammates, want to compete, you want to win, but I definitely learned a lot from not being able to play.”
By September, Harrison should be fully back to his usual self and the stars are starting to align for him to finally take that jump everyone’s been waiting on. That is, as long as the quarterback situation gets resolved.