Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. just completed his rookie season after being drafted fourth overall. He entered the season with huge expectations and with an impressive pedigree as the son of a Hall of Famer (Marvin Harrison Sr.).
He didn’t have a wildly productive season, catching 62 passes for 885 yards and scoring eight touchdowns. Many were disappointed in his season, especially as other rookie receivers around the league had more catches and over 1,100 receiving yards.
But Cris Carter, a Hall of Fame wide receiver, is not concerned. He called Harrison’s 2024 season “outstanding” in an interview with Kyle Odegard for Casino Apps.
Carter said he watched Harrison “an awful lot” in 2024.
“I thought he had a really good rookie season adjusting to pro football,” Carter explained. “A lot of times people don’t realize, especially for these high draft picks, that their season goes so long. Their offseason leads right into the Combine, so they don’t really have an offseason. They don’t really have an offseason, so these kids hit that wall. You could see in certain periods during the season that he looked a little bit fatigued, which we expect.
“But I thought he had an outstanding season for a rookie. Almost 1,000 yards. Tied the rookie Cardinal record for touchdowns there. All really good ways to start his NFL career there with the Cardinals.”
Harrison being fatigued at some parts of the season is an interesting observation. He notably passed on the predraft athletic training, not running 40s and such. He worked on football training, focusing on that and rest for his rookie season.
So can we expect a big jump from Harrison in 2025, perhaps even making the Pro Bowl?
” I think he’s a big-time player,” Carter said. “How long will it be until he makes the Pro Bowl? I don’t know that. Given the number of receivers we have in the NFC – AJ Brown, Deebo Samuel, Justin Jefferson – it’s hard to make the Pro Bowl. They throw those things on people like, ‘Next year he’ll make the Pro Bowl.’ Eventually he will make the Pro Bowl, but the measuring stick shouldn’t be Pro Bowl in his second year.”
The Cardinals believe in Harrison. Quarterback Kyler Murray believes in him.
What he looks like in 2025 will certainly be one of the biggest storylines to watch.
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