Since it’s been such a big talking point in Arizona Cardinals circles over the first couple of weeks of the 2025 NFL season, I think it’s time we have a nuanced conversation about Marvin Harrison Jr.’s targets. Ever since Harrison arrived in the NFL as one of the ballyhooed collegiate receiver prospects in recent memory, his involvement — or lack thereof — has been a frequent topic…
…Oh, wait a second, it turns out we have comment from Marvin Harrison Jr. himself. He wants to weigh in on where things stand.
“That’s a silly conversation, really,” Harrison told reporters, per Theo Mackie of Arizona Republic. “We’re 2-0. That’s the most important thing. Two big games coming up, one big game this week. So, that’s really my only focus.”
Well, okay then! While Harrison did acknowledge that “it’s always frustrating” to put in a ton of work into preparation only to end up making a minimal impact on gameday, he made sure to add, “at the end of the day, you’re very happy that we’re 2-0, sitting in here, we got a victory.”
Marvin Harrison himself hasn’t been the only high-profile member of the Arizona Cardinals organization who has fielded questions regarding his lack of involvement thus far this season. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has reiterated on numerous occasions that Harrison and tight end Trey McBride are the focal points of the Cards passing attack.
But the man who is tasked with getting the ball in the hands of Harrison, McBride and every other Cards pass-catcher sees things a little differently.
“Theres only 1 ball and Ive said before I wish I can get all my guys 10 or more targets. Sometimes Marvs gonna get 10 and other times he’ll get 3. It is what it is”
Well, okay then!
Best Case Scenario For Cardinals’ Marvin Harrison Jr.
While Kyler Murray isn’t wrong — there is only one football to go around — the assumption that came about as a result of drafting Harrison with the 4th overall pick was that he would step into a role where he immediately earned a target share on par with some of the other top receivers in the league. That didn’t happen. And even through two games in his second NFL season, Harrison isn’t being treated yet like a WR1.
The question that we need to find an answer to is, should Arizona Cardinals fans be concerned about this yet, or is too much being made about something that shouldn’t be as big of a talking point? To answer that question, we need to look at a couple of things.
First, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that through the first two weeks of the season, the Cardinals have thrown the 7th-fewest passes in the entire National Football League. It’s not like we’re talking about the 1980 San Diego Chargers offense here. Therefore, the total number of targets that Harrison receives shouldn’t necessarily be scrutinized as much as his overall target share is. That’s where the concern lies.
In order to figure out just how concerned we should be with Marvin Harrison’s role in Arizona’s offense, I wanted to find a proper comparison for him in the not so distant past. Over Harrison’s first 19 NFL games, he’s been targeted 127 times (21.2% target share), and caught 69 passes for 983 yards and 9 touchdowns.
The first player I thought to compare Harrison to was Atlanta Falcons wideout Drake London, who was the last receiver prior to Harrison to be selected with a top ten pick in the NFL Draft.
Drake London, first 19 NFL games – 126 targets, 78 receptions, 933 yards, 5 touchdowns, 26.5% target share
Although the raw stats are fairly similar, you can see that Drake London’s target share was significantly higher than Harrison’s, and in time London had evolved into one of the most reliable wideouts in the league, finishing in the top ten in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,271), and receiving touchdowns (9) during the 2024 season.
But the key difference here is that London didn’t have a reliable second-option in the Falcons passing attack to contend with for targets like Harrison does with McBride, who ended up second among all tight ends in targets, receptions and receiving yards in 2024.
So I decided to go back to the drawing board and find what would hopefully be a better one to one comparison, and the player I landed on was Ja’Marr Chase, who before Harrison, was the last wide receiver with a ‘generational talent’ tag next to his name to be selected in the top five of the NFL Draft.
Ja’Marr Chase, first 19 NFL games – 153 targets, 96 receptions, 1,638 yards, 14 touchdowns, 23.7% target share
To be fair, this was a blunder on my part. Not only was Chase clearly the superior prospect to Harrison, he landed in a situation — even with Tee Higgins in the picture — that would allow him to shine immediately upon his arrival in Cincinnati.
So Drake London didn’t work, nor did Ja’Marr Chase. How about now we just go with someone who shares the same name as Marvin Harrison Jr.
Marvin Harrison Sr., first 19 NFL games – 137 targets, 79 receptions, 962 yards, 8 touchdowns, 21.6% target share
See, now that’s what we’re talking about! Sure, the situations that Junior and Senior found themselves in over the first two years of their careers are much different, but if there’s any proof that we shouldn’t assume that there’s trouble in the desert or that Harrison Jr. is going to be a bust, this is it.
Let’s Talk About Marvin Harrison’s Targets, Shall We?