Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: Mike Evans Vs. Marvin Harrison Jr.
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In a tale as old as time, we find ourselves with a fun WR2 decision that involves an up-and-coming (yet risky) second-year player and a tried-and-true (yet aging) veteran. With Marvin Harrison Jr and Mike Evans being ranked right next to each other on most rankings, let’s take a look at which way to lean if faced with the decision in fantasy football drafts.
View our full Top 300 PPR, Half-PPR, and Standard format 2025 Fantasy Football Rankings.
WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans has officially entered Frank Gore territory, as fantasy managers have been writing him off for a few years now, yet he just keeps ticking and providing value. The veteran is poised for another 1,000-yard campaign with the Buccaneers.
Mike Evans could stand alone after this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q4345e6Z9W
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) August 14, 2025
Despite his increasing age (he’s still only 32 years old, believe it or not) and a massive quarterback change, Evans has been Old Faithful for the past few seasons and has more or less finished as a WR1 for four straight seasons. He’s also finished with double-digit touchdowns in four of the past five seasons.
Evans will also benefit from yet another season with Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball, as the two have formed a solid partnership that has helped Evans stave off Father Time. If Evans can stay healthy this season (he’s suited up for at least 13 games in every season of his career despite some fantasy managers thinking he’s injury-prone), he’ll once again have the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong as the top receiving option in Tampa Bay’s offense with Chris Godwin working his way back into shape after his horrific ankle injury.
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
On the other side of the coin, Marvin Harrison Jr didn’t come close to living up to expectations last season and barely finished as a top-40 wide receiver.
While the Cardinals smartly used Harrison’s route-running ability and deployed him as more of a mid-range threat toward the end of last season, the rookie still only put up 100-plus yards in one game during Week 2. Harrison Jr. averaged almost 10 targets per game from Weeks 13-18, but his efficiency was awful as he averaged just over four receptions per game during that span.
Even though a large part of Harrison’s inconsistency can be chalked up to him being a rookie, another large part of the blame pie has to be assigned to an inconsistent Kyler Murray and a subpar offensive line in front of him. Neither of those issues is likely to go away in 2025, so MHJ will have to deal with some factors beyond his control. The one silver lining is that he still found the end zone eight times, so there’s at least a little bit of scoring upside here.
The Verdict: Mike Evans Vs. Marvin Harrison Jr.
Which way should we go if Marvin Harrison Jr. and Mike Evans are the top two players in our queue when the timer comes our way? This honestly comes down to personal preference (and risk-reward), but since you’re here for my opinion: I’m playing this one safe and going with Mike Evans.
I understand the age concerns, but he’s playing in a better offense (with a better quarterback) and has less of a range of outcomes as Harrison Jr. Does Harrison have more upside? Absolutely – and that’s where personal preferences come into play – but he also has more downside, and I’m looking to hit one straight down the fairway when putting together my starting roster.
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Once a top-ranked fantasy gamer on ESPN, Nick Raducanu has been playing fantasy sports for over 25 years. His written fantasy coverage includes stops at Rotoworld, Rotowire, and The New York Times.