Marvin Harrison Jr. has been earmarked for NFL stardom for what feels like the last handful of years. Even before he entered what proved to be his final year at Ohio State, the wide receiver was billed as a generational prospect at the position and billed as a likely top-five pick. Well, all that came to fruition when the Arizona Cardinals chose him with the No. 4 overall pick at the 2024 NFL Draft last spring, and now Harrison is knocking on the door of his rookie season with the hype being sky high.
While there was going to be a mountain of expectations wherever he ended up, Harrison's landing spot with the Cardinals brings with it the promise that he could be the franchise's next Larry Fitzgerald. So, on top of being the son of Indianapolis Colts legend Marvin Harrison, he is also being spoken of in the same breath as yet another Hall of Fame wideout. Even with all that looming over him, Harrison doesn't seem phased by it.
"You've got to think that I've been compared to a Hall of Famer my whole life," the rookie pass-catcher recently said on SiriusXM Radio. "Going into this situation is not much different at this point. I'm just going to embrace it. There's never going to be another Larry. Larry was great. I'm just trying to be the next me."
The 22-year-old won the Fred Biletnikoff Award -- handed out to the top receiver in the country -- which coincided with him being named a unanimous All-American for the second consecutive year. He caught 14 touchdowns and recorded at least 1,200 yards receiving in each of his final two years for the Buckeyes, and the Cardinals are hoping that carries over into the NFL.
"I just feel like I'm supposed to be here, this is what I'm supposed to do," Harrison said. "I'm living out my dream, so I'm never trying to put too much pressure on myself. Obviously, I'm super hard on myself on the field, I just want to be the best that I can be, but I just feel like I'm supposed to be here, so that's my mindset the whole time."
On top of Fitzgerald, the Cardinals also had DeAndre Hopkins leading their offense not too long ago, so Harrison has the opportunity to be the latest star receiver to reside in the desert.