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The preseason hype for Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has been fairly quiet simply because his only appearance was for one drive, but the rookie phenom has shown more than enough in training camp and practices to impress his teammates.
Cardinals cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting told reporters “the sky’s the limit” for what Harrison can do in the NFL:
“I see what everybody else sees. Obviously, we all see it the same way, but he’s just very talented. He can do so many different things for our team and we’re gonna put him in situations and ask him to do a lot more for our team. He’s a guy that can just make any play that’s really given to him or thrown to him. Very athletic, very smart, very savvy, as well, with his route craft, and, just, the sky’s the limit.”
Harrison’s only preseason appearance was in the opener against the New Orleans Saints. He played a total of three snaps and wasn’t targeted.
Malik Nabers, who was the second receiver taken in the 2024 NFL draft, played 42 offensive snaps in the first two preseason games for the New York Giants.
Despite barely being on the field for any of the exhibition games, the Cardinals have made sure to post highlights of Harrison in practice looking like a potential difference-maker.
Harrison has taken one of the more unique approaches of any rookie coming into the NFL. He did no pre-draft workouts and skipped his media availability at the scouting combine.
None of it was that big of a deal because Harrison was already regarded as one of the top players in the class and wound up being selected No. 4 overall by the Cardinals.
Fantasy managers are also buying into Harrison making an immediate impact. He’s currently the ninth receiver coming off the board with an average draft position of 17.2 in PPR leagues, per FantasyPros.
But the lack of on-field activity in preseason games has made it difficult to gauge where Harrison stacks up against other first-year players, particularly fellow receivers like Nabers, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr. and Xavier Worthy.
The hype will intensify as soon as Harrison steps on the field in Week 1 when the Cardinals take on the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. He figures to be the No. 1 option for Kyler Murray in a pass-catching unit that includes emerging young players Michael Wilson and Trey McBride.