Former Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. may have grabbed a big win for NFL career despite taking a loss on TNF
A tale of two halves.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have a lineage of wide receivers like no other. The NFL is littered with pass catchers who once wore scarlet and gray. Names like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Emeka Egbuka, and Terry McLaurin, among others.
But only one of them can be the best. The player with the highest ceiling, with the most “can’t miss” projection, is Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals. And after a shaky start to his sophomore campaign in the desert, it was more of the same on Thursday night…Until it wasn’t.
Harrison Jr. looked like he had the yips for the first three quarters. He dropped a wide-open pass that was intercepted. He was seen sulking and looking like a deer in headlights. A to Z Sports reached out to a league source to ask what could possibly be wrong. “Thinking it’s just confidence to be honest. Not sure what else to say,” said an AFC scout.
Well, then came the 4th quarter, where Harrison Jr. caught two huge passes, including a redzone touchown that got Arizona back in the game. It wasn’t enough for the win, but it was exactly what he needed.
Marvin Harrison Jr. seemed to be in his own head before 4th quarter vs. Seahawks
“Harrison Jr. was a top-five pick who was expected to be a 1,000-yard wideout right away in the NFL, and that just hasn’t happened fully yet. Coming out of Ohio State, there wasn’t a real knock on the former Buckeye. These drop issues weren’t present in college the way they’re impacting his NFL career now. No reason to sugarcoat it—Harrison Jr. has looked completely checked out at times in Arizona, and that’s worrisome. His hands aren’t as reliable as usual, he’s running lackluster routes at times, and his overall body language isn’t where you’d like it to be. Some of this happened on Thursday night, even if it ended in a solid performance for him.
“At Ohio State, Harrison Jr. wasn’t someone who lived the typical college life. In the evenings, you would often find him at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center working with the Monarch or JUGGS machines. That extra work behind the scenes was a huge part of his development in Columbus. When Harrison Jr. left for the NFL after three seasons, he admitted it was difficult because of everything he was accustomed to at Ohio State. The Cardinals’ second-year wideout has looked lost at times and needs to find a way to rediscover the consistent success he had in Columbus. The frustrating moments in his career have been glaring, but he’ll hope that TNF was a turning point after the drop turned interception.” – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State
How Marvin Harrison Jr. builds off 4th quarter vs. Seahawks
You could see the raw emotion inside of Harrison Jr. after he made that catch. It doesn’t absolve him of the errors thus far, but it was both a giant sigh of relief and a reminder of what he can do. At his best, Harrison is an elite vertical threat who will make his living by winning jump balls in the red zone. He finished the game with six catches on 10 targets, 66 yards, and a touchdown. He had a huge catch down the sideline to set up the game-tying TD before Seattle eked out a field goal to win.
Harrison Jr. can stretch the field on the perimeter, win jump ball situations in a phone booth, and use his crafty route running to generate separation. He is the equivalent of a five-tool player in baseball. He just has to stop pressing and start trusting.
Trusting himself, his hands, and above all else, his process. Because a confident and engaged Harrison Jr, is someone who will keep defensive coordinators and cornerbacks up at night, and someone who will follow in his father’s footsteps.
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