Fantasy Upside
Marvin Harrison Jr. represents the latest great wide receiver to come out of Ohio State, and the Arizona Cardinals spent the fourth overall selection of the 2024 NFL Draft to bet that he will make an immediate impact. Harrison is coming off of back-to-back 1,200-yard, 14-touchdown seasons, with two separate quarterbacks. The rookie offers the Cardinals a piece to line up all over the field, though he should be a boundary receiver more often than not, which bodes well for a higher aDOT. Attached to Kyler Murray for the foreseeable future, Harrison can deliver as a ready-made WR2 with the upside for a top-10 finish at the position.
Fantasy Downside
While most of the top WR prospects didn't bother testing at the Combine, it would have been nice to see Harrison's speed after his YAC/reception (6.4) registered right in the middle of the pack of this draft class. He is a bit slender, so it'll be interesting to see if he can string together explosive plays with power through contact. Kyler Murray spread the ball out beyond Trey McBride when the QB returned from his ankle injury last season, with no receiver earning higher than a 15.3% target share (Hollywood Brown).
2024 Bottom Line
Outside of getting nit-picky about Harrison's rookie projections, there's not a lot to dislike here. Murray hasn't had a legitimate WR1 option since a hobbled DeAndre Hopkins was in town. There's no reason to believe the rookie won't present a consistent target option in all areas of the field, with a vertical threat that can end up putting up huge numbers. His ADP is far higher than other "elite" talents coming out of college, but that's because of how fast these guys can come on nowadays. If Harrison can take some of the red zone role away from Trey McBride (and James Conner), he has a chance to be a locked-in WR1 right out of the gate.
