The Arizona Cardinals lost 31-7 to their divisional rival, the Seattle Seahawks, putting them at 1-1.
In a vacuum, Cardinals fans would take that record given the low expectations heading into the season. But for this rebuilding Cardinals roster, process matters more than results. Considering the steep draft investment in wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in 2024, a goose egg has to be concerning.
Marvin Harrison Jr. disappears in Cardinals loss to Seahawks
Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett struggled in this contest overall, failing to eclipse even 100 yards passing. That certainly played a factor in Harrison's disappearance, as it's hard to put the blame entirely on someone who just received one target throughout the game.
But regardless of who to blame, the fact that Harrison isn't a focal point of this offense and essentially a nonfactor now through two games has to be cause for concern.
There were already questions as to whether this was a draft bust for Arizona. But Harrison's injury-riddled sophomore campaign left reason for optimism that he could join the long list of receivers to have experienced a third-year wide receiver breakout.
Tight end Trey McBride is clearly the focal point of this offense, which was on full display as he was the one pass catcher Seattle's strong secondary legitimately had no answer for. Still, Harrison had every opportunity to take over as the WR1 for this team. In fact, that was the expectation considering the steep draft investment.
Fortunately, it hasn't set back the Cardinals' offense entirely. McBride essentially has the skill set of a wide receiver anyway, while Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, and even running back Jeremiyah Love can help fill the WR1 void in the aggregate.
Marvin Harrison Jr. has largely fallen out of Mike LaFleur's offense
Still, this blowout loss to the Seahawks, where the Cardinals failed to generate any consistent offense, was telling about where Harrison stands in the offensive hierarchy.
He had a similarly quiet Week 1 in their upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers, catching one of three targets for 33 yards. But the fact that Arizona won the game and generated 26 points gave him the benefit of the doubt. Brissett noted that Harrison's double coverage opened up opportunities for others. We didn't want to overreact to Week 1 in general, but the fact that it could've been due to game script led us to believe it was too early to push the panic button on MHJ.
One week later, a blowout loss in which Arizona's offense had just seven points while targeting Harrison just once is officially a red flag. The lack of production is one thing, but the lack of targets is incredibly telling about where he now stands in this new Mike LaFleur offense.
Harrison's next opportunity to bounce back comes September 27 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, though there is legitimate cause for concern that it may never come to fruition, as he's largely fallen out of the offense.
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