Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Marvin Harrison Jr. was a sought-after prospect in last year’s NFL Draft and there’s a reason why. Now that he’s a year into his NFL career, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon expects a massive jump in Year 2.

Harrison Jr. was NFL-ready while he played at Ohio State. And if he’s anything like his Hall of Fame father, the Cardinals will have another legendary wide receiver in their franchise’s history.

Gannon seems to think Harrison Jr. is ready to explode this year. Not only that, the Cardinals have quietly put together a solid free agency and draft class going into the 2025 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 said to Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “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 has went to work on them. He has went to work on them. He looks awesome out there right now. I’m really excited to see where his game goes.”

As a rookie, Harrison Jr. pulled up 62 catches for 885 yards, eight touchdowns and 14.3 yards per catch. Expect those numbers to go up.

“He came up to me — I normally meet with guys about their developmental plan when we’re done with the year — when I had my meeting with him, he came up to me and he handed me a piece of paper,” Gannon said. “It wasn’t me handing him a piece of paper. But we knew that. The guy’s a ready-made pro. 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. I’m not gonna speak truth into the universe, but just wait until this guy plays this year.”

If Gannon puts this into the universe, maybe he’ll jink Harrison! Well, barring injury, it seems like the former Buckeyes’ star is bound for NFL stardom out in the desert.

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