When Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. inevitably declares for the 2024 NFL Draft after this upcoming college football season, he may be the best wide receiver prospect to enter the NFL ranks since Ja’Marr Chase or Amari Cooper.
You hear a lot about the importance of “NFL bloodlines,” and they don’t get much stronger than being the son of a Hall of Fame wide receiver, and Peyton Manning’s favorite target for much of his career.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, and yet it’s still somehow jarring to see Harrison move with the same pattern as his father.
Since Marvin Harrison Sr.’s time in the NFL, players have continued to get bigger, stronger and faster in a lot of areas. He played the game listed at 6-foot even and 185 pounds. His son is already listed at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. Even if we factor in some generous college measurements — which tends to not be a big issue at Ohio State — Marvin Harrison Jr. is Marvin Harrison Sr. adjusted for inflation in terms of size.
The current college superstar moves in a way that belies those listed measurements. He doesn’t look like a 6-foot-4 receiver and has no trouble with short-area quickness and change of direction, facets that taller receivers often struggle in. He moves and runs routes a lot more like a 6-foot receiver than one who is 6-foot-4, and that’s a good thing.
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