According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ the Indianapolis Colts are among the league suitors who have already called the Arizona Cardinals on the trade availability of underperforming young wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. ahead of the NFL’s upcoming Tuesday, November 10th trade deadline:
Originally the 4th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft by Arizona,
and widely considered a “can’t miss,” if not a generational wideout prospect, the 24-year-old wideout has largely (and surprisingly) struggled in over 2 seasons with the Cardinals—having been an increasing afterthought within their offense compared to their other starting receivers.
Of course, he’s also the namesake of his legendary father, Marvin Harrison Sr., who’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer and the all-time greatest wide receiver in Indianapolis franchise history, as the leader in nearly all of their major statistical receiving categories. However, Jr.‘s much bigger than his famous pops, at 6,‘3”, 220 pounds, but otherwise, it’s not hard to miss the uncanny physical resemblance between the two wideouts.
There’s been unnamed speculation that Harrison’s Jr. trade value has fallen to a ‘quality Day 3 pick,’as in some anonymous league circles, he’s viewed more as a “3rd wide receiver with upside.”That being said, it’s hard to envision the Cardinals actually moving him elsewhere, unless they get meaningful trade value in return, in some ways, similarly to the Colts have handled backup quarterback Anthony Richardson’s availability to-date.
For what it’s worth, Harrison Jr. just had his first touchdown reception of the season in Week 4, but otherwise, has underwhelmed to just 5 receptions for 85 total receiving yards collectively through Arizona’s first four games. It seems like a combination of maturity, underperformance, and not being properly utilized by the Arizona offense.
While I won’t get too into the weeds again of why Harrison Jr. makes sense for the Colts, it’s clear that after losing lead wideout Alec Pierce to injured reserve and veteran Keenan Allen now banged up, having missed last weekend’s game, that Indianapolis could use some immediate positional reinforcements, especially with veteran pickup Darius Slayton still not active through two weeks of being with the team.
Harrison Jr. would be a legacy here, and the hope is that Colts wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, who formed one of the most prolific wide receiver duos in NFL history alongside Harrison Jr.‘s father, could coach some “tough love” into the still young and talented wideout, who may just need a change of scenery to reach his full playing career potential.
If nothing else, it seems like a fairly favorable ‘buy-low’ opportunity for a former top wideout prospect, who almost every team coveted not too long ago ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft—with the Colts being among them.
