Marvin Harrison Jr. entered this weekend as the dynasty rookie WR1 by popular opinion and exited the weekend in the same state. Harrison is the son of a Hall of Famer, a former 4-Star recruit out of the vaunted St. Joseph’s prep in North Philadelphia, and a bona fide collegiate stud with two straight seasons of over 1,200 receiving yards and 14 TDs. On Thursday in Detroit, Harrison’s name was called fourth overall by the Arizona Cardinals, where one of his most common comps, Larry Fitzgerald played out the entirety of his 17-year future Hall of Fame career. Harrison’s selection at fourth overall in the NFL Draft is the highest by a WR since Amari Cooper was drafted fourth overall by the Raiders in 2015 and it gives the Cardinals a much-needed passing game weapon after the recent departures of DeAndre Hopkins in 2023, followed by Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore earlier this spring.
RotoViz PPR Rookie Ranks – All Positions:
THE PROFILE
In a world suddenly inundated with slightly-built sub-6-footers playing outside WR, Harrison represents a throwback at over 6 feet 3 inches and 209 pounds. He pressed for playing time as a true freshman, despite joining a situation with three outranking upperclassmen selected in the first round of the NFL draft themselves (Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba).
Due to the crowded environment, Harrison’s breakout age is merely 20.4 — not the worst, but not elite — but once entrusted with an opportunity, he never looked back. When Wilson and Olave chose to sit out the Rose Bowl in 2021, Harrison was thrust into a starting role as a true freshman, and, though he was dwarfed by Smith-Njigba’s famously ridiculous 15-347-3 outing against Utah, he posted his own three-TD performance in his first turn on the big stage.
As a sophomore, he erupted for 77-1,263-14 for 3.08 yards per team pass attempt and 33% Dominator Rating, then followed it with 67-1,211-14, 3.22 yards per team pass attempt, and an incredible 45% Dominator Rating as a junior. He is being touted as a technician on routes with elite releases and use of leverage. He has good quickness, long speed, footwork, football intelligence, explosiveness, and strong hands on jump balls. He is considered elite versus man or zone coverage on a robust litany of routes at all distances and field areas, garners decent separation, and earned an elite career yards per route run average (3.2, logging 3.6 in 2023).
