Marvin Harrison Jr. brushes off potential Cardinals controversy

Second-year Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. added some muscle weight during the offseason in an attempt to improve after he experienced an up-and-down rookie campaign. 

However, eyebrows were raised when he recorded just two receptions on five targets for 27 yards in Arizona's 27-22 win over the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Harrison poured cold water over the idea that he cares more about his stats than about the fact that the Cardinals opened the season with back-to-back wins. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. brushes off "silly conversation"

"That’s a silly conversation, really," Harrison responded when asked about the number of passes thrown his way across the season's first two weeks, per Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. "We’re 2-0. That’s the most important thing. We’ve got a big game this week, so that’s really my only focus. Anybody that’s a competitor loves the game, loves what they do. Everybody wants the ball. They want to impact the game. But most importantly, it’s all about winning."

Many expected Harrison would take a major leap this season after the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft finished his debut pro campaign with 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Thus far, that hasn't happened. In the Cardinals' 20-13 Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 7, he caught five of six targets for 71 yards and a score. 

ESPN stats show that second-year New York Giants star Malik Nabers tallied a league-high 25 targets over the first two weeks of the ongoing season. To compare, Harrison enters Week 3 with seven receptions on 11 targets for 98 yards and one touchdown.  

Marvin Harrison Jr. insists he's happy despite lack of targets

"It’s always frustrating when you may not get the impact that you kind of want in the game, especially when you put in so much work," Harrison acknowledged. "I know my process throughout the week and all the work that I put in throughout all season and leading up to the game. When you don’t get the results that you want to impact the game, that kind of is frustrating. But at the end of the day, you’re very happy that we’re 2-0 sitting here and got a victory."

Earlier in the week, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray warned that his team must be better about finishing games after Arizona flirted with snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on two occasions. Perhaps part of that process will involve Murray targeting Harrison early and often during this coming Sunday's game at the 2-0 San Francisco 49ers.