Former Ohio State Buckeyes Star Marvin Harrison Jr. Placed on Major NFL List

Former Ohio State star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. entered the NFL with sky-high expectations. While his rookie season was far from bad, there was still some meat left on the bone.

Bleacher Report recently highlighted eight second-year players across the league who need to take that next step quickly, including Harrison. Thankfully, the fourth overall selection of the 2024 NFL Draft isn’t lost on what needs fixing in his game.

Harrison added some muscle mass to his frame this offseason as he looks to play a bit stronger in Year 2. Of course, there’s a balance there for a receiver possessing his impressive skillset.

"You don't want to put on too much weight and then your body may not be used to it," Harrison said recently, as reported by ESPN. "But I feel exactly the same as I did before."

Harrison Jr. Adding Strength, Focused on Leading Cardinals to Wins

Even for a talent like Harrison, it’s understandable to feel out the league during a rookie campaign. Unfortunately, the optics become difficult when players like Malik Nabers and Brock Bowers are doing more with less at the quarterback position.

All things considered, Harrison’s 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight scores would look a lot better if the Arizona Cardinals didn’t underperform to an 8-9 finish. As much pressure that rests on Harrison’s shoulders, much more could be said of his quarterback, Kyler Murray.

Unfortunately, if Murray and the Cardinals continue to struggle, it will reflect poorly on Harrison. The fact that Larry Fitzgerald became a franchise cornerstone for Arizona with only a handful of seasons worth of competent quarterback play doesn’t help Harrison’s case either.

Still, Harrison has his role to play. While some folks will measure his success on stats, Harrison also recently expressed that putting up gaudy stats isn’t why the Cardinals drafted him. For Harrison and, truthfully, a few other Cardinals to prove their NFL worth, they have to win more games.

"I think this is the year that I feel like we want to do what we need to do,” Harrison said. “We have all the pieces we need. We just got to go out there and execute at this point. That's why they brought me here to help this team win games."