Could adding offseason muscle help Cardinals' Marvin Harrison Jr. produce a stellar sophomore season?

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. seemingly wanted to make a change coming off somewhat of an inconsistent rookie season. 

Specifically, David Brandt of the Associated Press and Doug Haller of The Athletic noted that Harrison was carrying more muscle weight on Monday compared to how he looked when he last took the field in January. 

"I definitely put on some pounds," Harrison admitted while speaking with reporters. "Obviously, football is a physical game. A lot of contested catch situations, run after catch, things like that. So I want to see how things play out during (organized team activities), training camp and see where it goes."

Per ESPN stats, Harrison led the 2024 Cardinals with eight touchdown catches. However, the fact that he was fifth among rookies with 62 receptions and 885 receiving yards has caused some to suggest the fourth overall pick of the 2024 draft had somewhat of a disappointing debut campaign. 

Back on May 13, ESPN's Ben Solak mentioned that NFL Next Gen Stats show that Harrison led the league in contested targets this past season with 40. Solak added that Harrison "lost on more than a few contested balls last season" and also "was asked to play the game on hard mode as a rookie, winning all of his catches through contact." 

Thus, it makes sense that Harrison would want to spend part of the ongoing portion of the offseason program practicing while at his current weight. 

"I’m constantly evaluating myself," Harrison said on Monday. "After every practice, I’m evaluating myself. I think that’s just the thing that you have to do consistently to be the best version of yourself. Obviously, I take the coaches’ input as well. We kind of come together with a plan."

Both Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon previously defended how Harrison performed as a rookie and made it known they're convinced he can "make a huge jump" this coming fall. In Harrison's eyes, such a jump would involve Arizona returning to the postseason for the first time since the 2021 campaign. 

"We’ve got to make the playoffs," Harrison added during his comments. "We have all the pieces we need. We just have to go out there and execute at this point. That’s why they brought me here — to help this team win games."