Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 8 winner: Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Kyler Murray doesn’t see all the speculation — he stays off X as much as possible — but he hears it. It’s hard not to, after all. His rapport with highly touted rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. — or lack thereof — has been a big topic of debate in the NFL world. The No. 4 overall pick and first wide receiver taken in the past draft, Harrison hasn’t had the start to his career that many league observers expected.
But Murray just wants the rookie to be himself. To continue making weekly improvements because “s— don’t happen overnight,” he explained.
When it comes together, it looks like it did on Sunday.
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“He kind of took over,” Murray said postgame.
Harrison had a season-high six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s 28-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins. He was clutch in the performance, catching all three of his targets for 56 yards on the Cardinals’ final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
On the game-winning drive, Harrison had a big 18-yard catch between two defenders running a dig route — the longest play on the series.
“I know in big situations, big moments … I try to be someone we can count on to make the plays for us,” Harrison said. “Any time there’s a two-minute drill or we need to make a big play, I do my best to get open and touch the ball.”
The performance could mark a turning point for Harrison, who recorded just his second 100-yard receiving game as a pro. He had more yards against the Dolphins than he had in the previous three games combined (102). He also had just four catches for 55 yards in the fourth quarter through seven games entering the week.
Despite a slower start to his career than expected, the 6-foot-4 Harrison has flashed superstar upside.
Among all wide receivers, he’s tied for third in receiving touchdowns (5), second in tested targets (19) and tied for fifth in contested catches (9), according to Pro Football Focus. Among qualified rookie wideouts, he’s first in both contested catches and contested targets, second in drop rate (3.7%) and overall targets (49), and third in receiving yards (411), yards per reception (15.8) and first downs receiving (21).
The Cardinals’ second-leading receiver behind tight end Trey McBride, Harrison is a big reason why Arizona (4-4) currently sits atop the NFC West, holding head-to-head tiebreakers over the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
After starting the year 1-3, the Cardinals have won three of their past four games.
“He practices his ass off all the time. When the ball comes to him, he is going to continue to make plays,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said of Harrison. “Zero panic. He is here for a reason. He got drafted here for a reason. He’s going to be a big-time player for us, and he is a big-time player for us. The kid is lights out, man.”
Why Harrison was successful in Week 8
The Cardinals made a concerted effort to deploy Harrison on crossers and over routes, which a couple of times isolated him against a single defender. Three of his six receptions came off those types of routes.
On his 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter, Harrison sprinted away from the outside leverage of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who had no help over the top because the middle-field safety on the play, Marcus Maye, took Arizona’s Michael Wilson, who ran a crosser toward the opposite end of the field. The corner covering Wilson initially, Kendall Fuller, was left in no-man’s land after Murray quickly flipped his hips from left to right, throwing in Harrison’s direction.
“Kind of drew up a great play,” Harrison said. “It’s the quarterback coach who’s kind of [been] calling that for a couple of weeks now, so glad we got it called.
On Harrison’s 22-yard reception early in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins’ Cam Smith was left in a similar predicament as Ramsey. Harrison ran across the field, and since the other two receivers went deep, Smith was left without safety help, out-leveraged underneath against the rookie.
For Harrison and Murray, who haven’t always been on the same page this season, Sunday marked a building block in the right direction.
“I feel like this game was really big for him and for me and for us to get on that page, you know?” Murray said. “Again, a guy like that, you have to just give him opportunities, and I think that’s a big deal.”
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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