What Grade Does Marvin Harrison Jr.'s Rookie Season Deserve?

Grading the Cardinals' rookies, beginning with the fourth overall pick.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals welcomed an astounding 12 rookies from their 2024 NFL Draft class. While not all of them made an instant impact on the team, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was afforded an instant starting job.

Going forward, we'll be grading each rookie's season, beginning with the fourth overall pick out of Ohio State.

WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

The grade: B

Many were unsatisfied with the level of production out of the young receiver. It's understandable, when Harrison only managed 885 receiving yards, and generally seemed out of sync with quarterback Kyler Murray.

But the truth is that Harrison had a solid rookie season. If he hadn't been expected to come in as an instant X receiver, with his father's legacy preceding him, nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns in a rookie season would have been looked at much differently.

Still, he managed 14.3 yards per catch and put forward a pair of 100-yard performances. It wasn't perfect, and plenty needs to improve, but to claim it was a poor season is generally false.

As I've written before, Harrison is on track to still become an excellent receiver, and could easily live up to the expectations placed on him.

We also awarded Harrison our 2024 Cardinals On SI Rookie of the Year award. While it might not have been an eye-popping rookie season, with plenty of hitches along the way, he still provided a threat through the air.

But it simply wasn't enough to raise Harrison's rookie season grade too high. For a rookie wideout, he was solid, if not too far above average.

Other factors were at play as well, with some inconsistent quarterback play, a poor overall passing attack, TE Trey McBride's dominance, and an offensive scheme that didn't seem too invested in getting the rookie receiver targets.

All of these things can be remedied. Harrison is an exceptional talent, and showed flashes of the X receiver he can be.

He'll need to increase his chemistry with Murray, and the Cardinals would do well to utilize Harrison in a more YAC-focused role, along with more deep crossing routes and more diverse route trees.

Too often, the only throws to Harrison were low-percentage jump balls or open-field stops or comeback routes.

His ceiling is quite high, and the Cardinals' offense is in dire need of some high production from pass-catchers not named Trey McBride.

Still, there was plenty left on the field in 2024, and for that reason, Harrison's rookie year gets a B.