Marvin Harrison Jr entered the NFL with sky-high expectations for both real life and fantasy football. Selected with the fourth-overall pick, the Ohio State product finished his inaugural season with 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns on 116 targets while finishing as the WR30 in PPR formats. Widely believed to be an elite prospect like Ja’Marr Chase coming out of college, Harrison finished the season behind fellow rookies Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, and Ladd McConkey in overall scoring. Will he continue to disappoint in 2025, or will he bounce back and dominate in the upcoming campaign?
Fantasy Football: Marvin Harrison Jr Outlook
While Harrison finished as the WR30, his underlying metrics suggest he should have had a much better season. According to PlayerProfiler, Harrison finished the season with a 22.2% target share, which is a good number for a rookie. However, everyone knows that not all targets are created equal. The Cardinals used Harrison as a deep threat, finishing the season with 1,566 air yards (sixth-most in football) and a 42.3% air yard share (seventh-most). This encouraging usage suggests that great things could be in his future if Harrison and quarterback Kyler Murray establish a stronger rapport.
So why did Marvin Harrison finish at the WR30 with such great usage? Deep targets are great, but they’ll stop coming if Harrison can’t make the most of his opportunity. While his college tape is great, some players cannot translate their game to the professional level. Fortunately for Harrison, this doesn’t appear to be the case for him. Despite connecting on just 53.4% of his targets, Pro Football Focus gave Harrison a 77.7 overall grade, the 27th-best mark out of 133 eligible players.
Murray Problems?
This suggests the biggest issue is Kyler Murray, but the data doesn’t support this either. Last year, the quarterback finished the season with a 78.7 PFF deep passing grade (20+ air yards), which is an above-average mark. So, we know the Cardinals are trying to get Harrison the ball on deep passing plays, Harrison can successfully run these routes, and Murray is an accurate deep passer. This suggests chemistry between the two was the biggest issue, and that should improve with time.
Again, what Harrison did pales in comparison to fellow draftees Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. However, those two had historical rookie seasons. Most of the time, you’d be content with what Marvin Harrison brought to the fantasy football world as a rookie. Maybe he won’t be the unquestioned WR1 in a year or two, but the future is bright for this young playmaker. The only question is where to select Marvin Harrison in fantasy football.
Marvin Harrison Fantasy Football ADP
As of this posting, Marvin Harrison is going off the board as the WR12, just ahead of guys like Garrett Wilson and Rashee Rice and behind Drake London and Ladd McConkey. A lot can change between now and the start of the regular season, but this seems like a fair price.
Even if Harrison and Murray start connecting, he probably won’t score as many touchdowns as the elite fantasy options. Murray has yet to record more than 26 passing touchdowns in a season, which means Marvin Harrison would probably need at least a 30% target share to put up a top-five fantasy football finish. Seeing as he finished last year with a 22.2% target share and Trey McBride is still around, this is a big ask.
However, even with Harrison’s lack of touchdown upside capping his ceiling, the prominent usage, extra year of experience, and promising rookie film give him a great shot at finishing as a low-end WR1 in the upcoming season.
Main Photo: Rob Schumacher – Imagn Images
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