{"id":971502,"date":"2026-08-12T22:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/971502\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T22:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:06:21","slug":"marvin-harrison-jr-cant-stop-dropping-footballs-in-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/971502\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvin Harrison Jr. can’t stop dropping footballs in training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArizona Cardinals<\/a><\/p>\n

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. enters 2026 with a lot of questions. Should we be buying or selling a breakout year?<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) on the field during warm ups prior to a game against the Atlanta Falcons at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Marvin Harrison Jr.<\/a> seemingly checked every box coming out of the 2024 NFL Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ohio State wide receiver had a Hall of Fame father, elite college production, and was the No. 4 overall selection by the Arizona Cardinals. Two seasons later, the Cardinals receiver is dropping footballs in training camp, and viral videos have taken over social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The question now is whether these clips tell the real story or whether selective editing has created a narrative that doesn\u2019t match reality.<\/p>\n

On the latest episode of 13 Personnel, the crew broke down what\u2019s happening with Harrison and whether a Year 3 breakout is still on the table despite the unsettling footage.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The viral clips don\u2019t tell the whole story<\/p>\n

The low-light blooper reels flooding Twitter paint a dire picture, but context matters. Kyle Odegard, who covers the Cardinals, has posted clips showing Harrison making big plays in camp. Since the viral drop that set the internet on fire, Harrison has reportedly been dominant in Arizona\u2019s practices. Beat reporters on the ground in Phoenix have pushed back on the narrative, saying the clips aren\u2019t demonstrative of how he\u2019s actually practicing.<\/p>\n

The comparison to Ja\u2019Marr Chase\u2019s<\/a> rookie training camp, when the former LSU star couldn\u2019t seem to catch an NFL-sized ball without the college stripe, is a natural one. Chase went on to become one of the best receivers in football. But there\u2019s a critical difference: that was a rookie-year concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harrison is heading into year three. The fact that concentration drops and confidence questions are still part of the conversation is harder to dismiss.<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s mindset is the bigger concern<\/p>\n

The physical tools remain elite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harrison showed up to offseason training looking jacked, reportedly around 215 to 220 pounds, having added significant muscle to his frame. The upper body development addressed one of the few concerns from his draft evaluation, a need for better play strength through contact at the catch point.<\/p>\n

But the mental side raises questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked at the podium whether he ever looks back at his dominant performance against the Dallas Cowboys last season to remind himself what he\u2019s capable of, Harrison\u2019s answer was telling. He said he never looks back on his good moments. He only focuses on when he isn\u2019t perfect.<\/p>\n

That kind of relentless self-criticism might sound admirable in theory, but for a player who already carried the weight of a Hall of Fame last name, generational expectations, and now two underwhelming NFL seasons on a bad team, it\u2019s a potentially dangerous mindset. Harrison has shown flashes of the elite receiver he was at Ohio State, but the inconsistency remains the defining feature of his NFL career so far.<\/p>\n

The Arizona situation could help or hurt<\/p>\n

The Cardinals\u2019 supporting cast might actually relieve some pressure. Tight end Trey McBride<\/a> and wide receiver Michael Wilson<\/a> both eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards last season with a massive share of targets. Harrison, meanwhile, finished with roughly 70 targets, 600 yards, four touchdowns, and around 40 catches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With proven weapons around him, he shouldn\u2019t need to carry the passing game alone.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the quarterback situation does Harrison no favors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arizona is projected 32nd out of 32 teams in scoring this season, with Jacoby Brissett, Carson Beck, and Gardner Minshew competing for snaps. There\u2019s a legitimate possibility that the Cardinals quietly tank toward a top quarterback selection by the trade deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That kind of environment doesn\u2019t exactly set up a breakout campaign for a receiver who needs stability and volume.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that Harrison plays in the NFL\u2019s smallest media market. If the Giants had drafted him at No. 6 instead of the Cardinals taking him at No. 4, these training camp struggles would be a five-alarm fire in New York. Ohio State gets more national coverage than Arizona does, so that should lessen some of the pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The verdict on the Year 3 breakout<\/p>\n

The case for selling Harrison as broken isn\u2019t there yet. The viral clips are selective, the beat reporters are pushing back, and the physical development this offseason was encouraging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But buying him as a lock for a Year 3 breakout requires ignoring some real red flags \u2014 from the concentration lapses to the self-destructive perfectionism to the bottom-of-the-barrel quarterback situation.<\/p>\n

The safest position right now is somewhere in the middle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The talent that made Harrison the No. 4 pick hasn\u2019t disappeared. Body control, hand strength, and route-running ability are all still in there. But until the talent materializes consistently on the field, caution is warranted. Harrison may simply be working through early camp rust \u2014 or he may be a potential superstar who can\u2019t get out of his own head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Right now, nobody on the ground in Phoenix seems certain which one it is.<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Nov\t\t<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMarvin Harrison Jr.\u2019s Arizona Cardinals funk resurfaces scouting questions coming out of Ohio State\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Marvin Harrison Jr. has been very underwhelming so far for the Arizona Cardinals. Was he over-hyped as a prospect all along?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. enters 2026 with a lot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":971503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[265,375,390,2604,1327,2037,7,3374,6,69,1570,6042],"class_list":["post-971502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arizona-cardinals","tag-american-football","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-arizonacardinals","tag-cardinals","tag-carson-beck","tag-football","tag-marvin-harrison-jr","tag-nfl","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-ohio-state-football","tag-trey-mcbride"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117084814407735456","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/971503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}