Why fantasy football managers should buy the dip after Marvin Harrison Jr.’s disappointing rookie season

Marvin Harrison Jr. had the highest ever ADP (17.0 in Yahoo drafts) for a rookie receiver last season, but he was a massive disappointment while finishing as the WR42 in fantasy points per game. Harrison undoubtedly deserves some of the blame, as he might’ve been the worst receiver in the league when it came to contested catches. He also forced just one missed tackle during 62 receptions. His rookie season certainly wasn’t bad, but Harrison unquestionably failed to live up to his lofty expectations.

However, usage and Kyler Murray were also to blame. Harrison ranked sixth in air yards but just 37th in target share (22.2%). He ranked 58th in yards per route run among wideouts, although that came while ranking 64th in catchable target rate. Despite being among the leaders in end-zone targets, Harrison was still just the WR32 in expected fantasy points per game. Murray delivered just a 51% catchable ball rate on throws 20+ air yards without pressure, which ranked 24th out of 33 qualified QBs (although the good news is Murray targeted Harrison on a whopping 45.9% of those attempts).

Advertisement

More than one quarter of Harrison’s routes were “go,” which were the second most (25.9%) in the league. He was one of only five WRs with at least 50 targets to see none of them come from behind the line of scrimmage. Harrison saw 116 targets but zero screens. He was targeted just one time all season during pre-snap motion and saw the fifth most “tight coverage%.” He took 72.6% of his snaps out wide with just 27.4% in the slot, leading to fewer “layup” targets. Harrison had an 83.3% catch rate when he was the secondary, check-down or designed target.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]

On throws over the middle of the field, Harrison was actually one of the most effective wide receivers in the NFL. But 75% of his (mostly unsuccessful) targets came on the perimeter, which was the league’s second-highest rate. Harrison also had massive zone/man splits — he ranked fifth in target rate and third in win rate against man coverage but didn’t get to take advantage opportunity wise, ranking 29th in routes versus man. Harrison didn’t wow separating as a rookie, but his Average Separation Score (WR32) was on par with Puka Nacua and better than Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb.

Advertisement

It admittedly remains to be seen whether Murray can effectively throw the ball to Harrison over the middle given the QB’s height restrictions, but Arizona needs to give them more chances (and move MHJ to the slot more). Harrison was asked to play an important role for the Cardinals as a rookie (that wasn’t conducive for fantasy points), but it’s obvious he can be far more successful if used differently in 2025.