Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort raised some eyebrows this past winter when he suggested that some fans and observers had “unrealistic expectations” for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. almost immediately after Arizona made Harrison the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
During a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon shared why he’s confident Harrison will match or even exceed expectations hovering over him coming off somewhat of a disappointing rookie season.
“When the staff is in place, the jump from Year 1 to Year 2, I think that’s where guys make a huge jump,” Gannon explained, per Kevin Patra of the NFL’s website. “This guy played unbelievable ball for us, but if you talk to him, he’d be the first to tell you, like, ‘I need to get better at these couple things,’ and, man, he went to work on them. He went to work on them. He looks awesome out there right now. I’m really excited to see where his game goes.”
Per Pro Football Reference, Harrison finished the 2024 campaign fifth among rookies with 62 receptions and 885 receiving yards. While he was tied for second among first-year pros with eight receiving touchdowns, he finished outside the top 10 in Offensive Rookie of the Year Award voting.
Somewhat interestingly, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray revealed earlier this spring that he tweaked his surgically-repaired knee in Arizona’s Week 1 game versus the Buffalo Bills this past September. One can only wonder how, if at all, that impacted Harrison’s production throughout the season.
Meanwhile, Gannon noted how Harrison seemingly started thinking about his sophomore campaign back in January.
“The guy’s a ready-made pro,” Gannon added. “He does all the right things. He was here the whole offseason. He skipped out one week. He went and trained with a bunch of different receivers, but he was here the whole offseason. I think he added a little bit of muscle mass. He looks a little bit bigger. All his numbers, his metrics, are all better than when we got him.”
As of the first day of May, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Harrison as a +5000 betting underdog to claim the Offensive Player of the Year Award for the 2025 season. It sounds like Gannon thinks bettors may want to take a flier on Harrison earning that honor before outsiders get to see the 22-year-old in action during training camp practices.
