Arizona Cardinals select Marvin Harrison Jr in first round of 2024 NFL Draft
Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr will continue his football career with the Arizona Cardinals, which selected the former Ohio State star with the No. 4 pick in the first round.
Harrison was one of the most coveted prospects in the draft. And he leaned into that as he prepared for the draft. Harrison didn’t work out at the NFL Combine nor at Ohio State’s Pro Day. Rather, he said he trained for the football season, not combine drills. Scouts looked at his game videos and knew what to expect from Harrison, a Heisman finalist.
The receiver had an amazing career with the Buckeyes. But everyone knew that he had this brilliance in his blood. Literally. His father, Marvin Harrison Sr, is a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Harrison Jr ranked as a four-star prospect in the On3.com Industry average.
As a freshman, Harrison had the luxury of playing behind and learning from future first-round receivers Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith Njigba and Chris Olave. His first career start was in the Rose Bowl against Utah. All he did was catch three touchdown passes.
Harrison was a unanimous All-American his sophomore and junior seasons, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver last fall. He also earned a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist.
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Marvin Harrison Jr
NFL analysts were consistent in their praise of Harrison. Several of them compared him to former Arizona Cardinal great Larry Fitzgerald, the third pick of the 2004 NFL Draft.
“I had a GM tell me in Orlando that Marvin Harrison Jr. was Larry Fitzgerald 2.0.,” said NFL analyst Jordan Schultz, during an interview on The Herd. Schultz said the GM mentioned Harrison’s “pedigree. He’s a pro. (LSU receiver) Malik Nabers might be Ja’Marr Chase, maybe a higher upside. But I think the ceiling – I should say the floor for Harrison is so high that you know exactly what you’re getting.”
Long-time ESPN analyst Mel Kiper also used the comparison to Fitzgerald, who made the Pro Bowl 11 times.
“You’re staring … Larry Fitzgerald right in the face with Marvin Harrison Jr,” Kiper said as he introduced his second mock draft on the ESPN airwaves. “History can repeat itself there.”
Lance Zierlein, an analyst for NFL Network, likened Harrison to Cowboy Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb.
Zierlein wrote: “Harrison is a touchdown champ with a variety of ways to excel, and that characteristic figures to follow him into the pros. He has the traits and tools to win in all three phases of the route and on all three levels of the field. He’s a pedigree prospect and a Day 1 starter with high-end production expected.”