The Arizona Cardinals drafted Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Just three seasons later, they've traded him to the Houston Texans for a second-round pick.
You can even make a compelling case that the Cardinals won this deal considering how underwhelming Harrison's start to his NFL career has gone. Still, it goes to show just how quickly a player's value can change when entering the league.
The question with this trade is how much of this failed partnership was due to Harrison and how much was on the Cardinals?
Cardinals can’t repeat their Marvin Harrison Jr. mistake with Jeremiyah Love
The Texans are hoping they can unlock Harrison's star potential by pairing him with former college teammate C.J. Stroud. There's unfortunately a track record of players leaving Arizona only to go on to find more success elsewhere.
The most recent example is Kyler Murray and the Minnesota Vikings now moving to 5-0 with their win over the New Orleans Saints. That undefeated start in Minnesota goes to show that Arizona didn't put Murray in the optimal position to succeed. It wouldn't be surprising if that's a similar case with Harrison going on to have more success in Houston as well.
The most frustrating aspect of this trade is how the Cardinals didn't even really attempt to get him involved in the offense. In Week 4 against the New York Giants, Harrison had an impressive 12-yard touchdown grab to start the game, putting the Cardinals up 7-0 with 11:08 left in the first quarter.
The breakout has arrived! He's finally turning the corner!
Sike. Jacoby Brissett barely looked his way the rest of the game. That turned out to be Harrison's lone grab on just four targets.
It would be one thing if the Cardinals were actively making Harrison a focal point of this offense and he simply wasn't producing. It's another thing entirely to know a struggling player needs to find his rhythm, connect on a touchdown early in the game, and then have him become an afterthought in the offense.
It's too late now, as that's the Texans' problem to sort out: how to get the most out of the talented but flawed Harrison. Still, for the Cardinals, the concern is that history could be repeating itself with Jeremiyah Love.
Cardinals must prioritize Jeremiyah Love going forward
Arizona invested a top-five pick at a running back position that's typically viewed as more of a luxury. The question was never the talent, but rather the opportunity cost of addressing a more valuable position of need.
But now not only have the Cardinals drafted a running back, but they're also not even really utilizing him appropriately? Love had 12 carries for just 22 yards rushing. He failed to bring in the lone target from Brissett, which is arguably even more puzzling.
It's understandable not to run Love into the ground, both to preserve him and because the game script is rarely in Arizona's favor. Still, to not utilize him as a pass catcher in these obvious passing situations is baffling. That's the reason they drafted Love so highly in the first place -- his rare three-down skillset that separates him from almost every other back in the league even as a rookie.
We've seen flashes of that through five games, but they've surprisingly been few and far between. Again, with Love's underwhelming start to his rookie season, one has to wonder how much of this responsibility falls on the Cardinals.
He's someone who clearly gets better and more comfortable as the game goes on, getting a rhythm with more touches. That's been difficult to come by, which, paired with a flawed and injured offensive line, spells trouble for Love.
The Cardinals failed to unlock Harrison, and while it's too little too late with him, they must learn from this mistake with their most recent top prospect in Love. There's plenty of time to right the ship, and you don't want to overreact to five games in what is a lost season for the Cardinals anyway in terms of playoff hopes.
Still, you could've said the same for Harrison, who now finds himself headed to Houston after just 33 games spent in Arizona. There needs to be more of a sense of urgency to make Love a priority in this offense and rebuild.
Add us as a preferred source on Google