Marvin Harrison Jr. joined the NFL touted as a can’t-miss prospect — the prototype of a high-end NFL receiver with all the tools to make an immediate impact for the Arizona Cardinals.
His NFL debut on Sunday landed with a thud. Quarterback Kyler Murray targeted Harrison three times in Sunday’s 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Harrison caught one of those targets for four yards.
To say the least, it was a disappointing debut for the No. 4 pick in April’s NFL draft who was widely rated as the best player in his draft class.
On Tuesday, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing acknowledged that the Cardinals can do better in terms of getting Harrison the ball.
“Certainly he is on the forefront of our minds in terms of getting him the ball,” Petzing said, per the Cardinals’ website. “I think [the Bills] did some things to take him away, and certainly I could’ve called some plays to get him more involved early but I thought it was a good start.
“We have some work to do.”
There is some work to do, indeed.
Harrison stands at 6-3 and 191 pounds. He runs crisp routes and possesses elite speed, hands and athleticism. He’s a potential game-breaker on every deep route that he runs who was virtually un-coverable in two seasons as a starter at Ohio State.
Of course, Harrison never faced the Bills’ defense in the Big Ten. Few rookie playmakers thrive in their first look at a real, live NFL defense. Harrison wasn’t one of them. And that’s fine.
But the Cardinals are now tasked with figuring out what went wrong Sunday. There’s no pass-catcher on Arizona’s roster that comes remotely close to matching Harrison’s combination of size, skill and athleticism. Greg Dortch, Michael Wilson and Zach Pascal aren’t on the same plane as Harrison.
Harrison should and likely will emerge as Murray’s unquestioned top wide receiver target. It’s now up to the Cardinals to figure what that looks like
Petzing said that “the plan” is to get Harrison more targets — and that the task lies with him, not with Murray.
“One of the things I try to stress with Kyler is that it’s not his job to get certain people the ball or worry about how a guy is doing in the flow of the game,” Petzing said. “I’ve got to do that with the way I call the game, and he’s got to make the best decision based on the look, the coverage, how the routes are run.”
The Cardinals next face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. It’s a safe bet that Harrison will see more than three targets on Sunday.
