Cardinals HC has passionate response to critics of Marvin Harrison Jr.

Last season, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. fell short of meeting the expectations many had for him before the Arizona Cardinals made him the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Nevertheless, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon doesn't want to hear fans or analysts suggest that Harrison was anything but a positive for the club in his rookie campaign. 

"I thought he had a hell of a year," Gannon said about Harrison during a recent chat with Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano. "It’s the expectations of when he came into the league. But there were some plays I feel like we left out there. And there are a lot of variables that go into that, but he wanted to work on [his strength]. He thought it'd help his game both in the air and when he gets the ball in his hands. I’m good with that. He’s moving around good. He’s having a heck of a camp right now. It takes a little bit of time." 

During the NFL Scouting Combine this winter, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort made it known that he felt some members of the NFL community had "unrealistic expectations" for Harrison's rookie season. While Harrison began last September as one of the betting favorites to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors, he ultimately finished the campaign with 62 receptions, 885 receiving yards and a team-best eight touchdown catches. 

To compare, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers ended his debut season with 112 receptions, 1,194 receiving yards and five touchdown grabs.

"Everyone wants to see instant success," Gannon continued. "The media always asks me, 'What about [Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals] and Justin Jefferson?’ What about the 380 guys that you’re not listing that went in the first round who didn’t have near the stats that Marvin did?"

Earlier in the week, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray revealed that he's just now feeling "back to where [he] was before" he went down with a knee injury in December 2022 that left him needing ACL surgery and some meniscus repair. Gannon and Co. are now hoping that Harrison adding some muscle weight during the offseason could help Murray notch the first playoff win of his career. 

"I’m truthfully not worried about the outside noise," Gannon told Manzano. "But, we need everybody on the team to play better to do what we want to do, Marvin included, Kyler included, the defense included, me included."

If that doesn't happen, the Cardinals could consider parting ways with Murray next offseason.