All Cardinals

Cardinals Must Get Creative With Marvin Harrison Jr.

Marvin Harrison Jr. could unlock potential with the Arizona Cardinals offense.

Jeremy Brener

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Arizona Cardinals are counting on Marvin Harrison Jr. to be a star for them on offense.

He is one of the most gifted prospects to come out of the draft in a long time at the wide receiver position, so the Cardinals should take advantage.

ESPN analyst Ben Solak thinks that means the Cardinals should utilize him a bit differently than they did in 2024.

"Arizona's role for Harrison was fairly predictable to start the season. He lined up out wide and ran down the field, looking for targets on go balls or on the back shoulder. Harrison had 52 targets against press coverage (second only to Ja'Marr Chase) in large part because opposing defenses knew the Cardinals would stick their outside receivers on the line of scrimmage and not move them," Solak wrote. 

" ... Harrison simply was not used creatively last season, when he had 885 yards and eight TDs. He was asked to play the game on hard mode as a rookie, winning all of his catches through contact. He was never hidden from the opponent's best cover man. He could have won a few more jump balls than he did, but Murray could have thrown him a few better jump balls, and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing also certainly could have eased his burden with a bunch set or two. I was wholly unimpressed by the Cardinals' plan for Harrison last season and remain accordingly optimistic on his future as a good NFL wide receiver."

If the Cardinals can give Harrison some different looks in his second season in the league, it could lead to more individual success for the former Ohio State wideout, and therefore, Arizona could get better as a team as well.

Unlocking Harrison's full potential could be the difference in the Cardinals being under .500 or over.

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News