Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t cover up his dismay concerning his lack of production during the team’s Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“I mean, obviously it wasn’t great,” Harrison told reporters during Wednesday’s media availability. “Definitely wasn’t what I expected, what I wanted to happen, what the team wanted to happen. Obviously, you wanted to come out with a victory and we didn’t do that.”
He added, “That’s why it kind of brought me here is to help the team, help the offense go. So, I have to do a better job of that going forward. I got to get open and catch the ball. That’s my job as a receiver. That is your job description. That’s what I got to do a better job.”
One catch for 4 yards on three targets, including one drop, rightfully left the 2024 No. 4 pick frustrated. Harrison’s debut stands as one of the more lackluster Week 1 outings for a first-round wide receiver in the last 25 years.
Since 2000, the Cardinals’ wideout’s Week 1 outing ranked 60th among 61 qualified receivers (minimum three targets, via TruMedia) in EPA (expected points added) per reception with a minus-0.4 rate and 58th in EPA per target with a minus-0.54 rate.
Here’s how it compared to the other 2024 first-round wide receivers in Week 1:
- Malik Nabers: 0.63 EPA per target, 1.2 EPA per reception, seven targets, five receptions, 66 yards, one drop
- Rome Odunze: Minus-0.51 EPA per target, 0.7 EPA per reception, four targets, one reception, 11 yards
- Brian Thomas Jr.: 1.43 EPA per target, 1.4 EPA per reception, four targets, four receptions, 47 yards, one touchdown
- Xavier Worthy: 1.23 EPA per target, 2.4 EPA per reception, three targets, two receptions, 47 yards, one TD, one carry, 21 yards, one TD
- Xavier Legette: Minus-0.11 EPA per target, 0.3 EPA per reception, seven targets, four receptions, 35 yards
- Ricky Pearsall: Inactive
Harrison caught 155 passes for 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns in his three seasons at Ohio State.
“We have the utmost confidence in what we’re capable of,” Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray said. “If you went back and watched the game, I think they were doing a good job of making sure that he wasn’t going to be singled up or not be singled up for the majority of the game.
“I’ll never lose confidence in Marv. It was his first game. We have to continue to get better and we will.”
Required reading
- NFL picks against the spread, Week 2: Cut Daniel Jones some slack, Giants will bounce back
- Which 0-1 NFL teams should be worried? From Bengals to Giants and 14 others
- No Cardinal flew quite like Josh Allen, and that was the difference in Sunday’s loss
- NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Let’s overreact! Chargers, Bucs up; Bengals, Falcons down
(Photo: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)
