Marvin Harrison Jr. is quietly becoming more involved in the Arizona Cardinals' offense, trending upwards with three receptions for 40 yards in their Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
While it's not the breakout Cardinals fans are waiting for, you'd think Harrison trending in the right direction would quiet trade rumors. Instead, they've gotten louder, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently reporting that teams across the league are still closely monitoring Harrison's situation in the Valley.
Fowler even adds that Harrison's trade value is speculated to be "possibly a quality Day 3 pick."
Cardinals have no reason to sell low on Marvin Harrison Jr.
There's a reason these trade rumors are surfacing from the teams that would actually want to do that trade.
Say what you will about how bad the Harrison draft decision looks for the Cardinals, but there's no reason for them to trade him when his value is all likelihood at an all-time low. It's not like he's a problem in the locker room or openly complaining about not getting enough targets, as we've seen so many skilled receivers do in the past.
Harrison isn't returning value on his No. 4 overall draft investment coming out of Ohio State in 2024, but he still has value to provide Jacoby Brissett and this Cardinals offense.
Most of Harrison's slow start is on him, but some of it is by design, given how the Cardinals want to run this offense under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur. They're playing to their true strengths, utilizing the elite playmaking of tight end Trey McBride and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love. They don't necessarily need Harrison to emerge as that WR1 in this offense for him to still play a valuable role.
Making him available or listening to offers on Harrison is one thing, as he certainly hasn't played his way into untouchable status. But to trade him for a "quality Day 3 pick" would be an unnecessarily rushed move.
Teams are likely excited about the idea of buying low on a former top-five pick who is still just 24 years old, as that's a rare opportunity. But that shouldn't apply to Harrison's situation either, as even in this redefined role, he's still providing value to this offense.
You wouldn't think that's the case with all the negativity surrounding Harrison, who still has plenty of time to improve his career trajectory, considering he's played just 32 total NFL games to this point.
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