What's wrong with Marvin Harrison Jr. in the NFL and how the Texans can fix it

Marvin Harrison Jr. greeted the media with a smile on Wednesday in new Houston Texans gear.

Blue headband. White sweatshirt. It's a change of scenery for the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. What excites Harrison most ahead of his debut on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars at 9:30 a.m. ET at Wembley Stadium in London, England?

"It's just a combination of everything, really," Harrison said at his press conference . "I can't pinpoint one thing. I think the team as a whole. It's great for me. It's a great situation for me. Being with C.J. (Stroud) with a quarterback you have rapport with and had success with in the past is great, too."

That's the easy-to-see connection. The Arizona Cardinals traded Harrison — who did not live up to expectations as a top-five pick through two-plus seasons — to the Texans. Harrison is reunited with his old quarterback and the hope is to rekindle a connection from their time together at Ohio State.

Sirius XM NFL analyst Jacob Hester, host of "Movin' the Chains," said that relationship helps explain a second chance for Harrison with the Texans.

"It's always tough when you have high expectations and you don't live up to them and a lot of people are questioning why it didn't work," Hester told The Sporting News. "Was it you? Was it the team? What was it? Dealing with that is always tough. You never know if getting back with C.J. Stroud is going to be the thing that unlocks his career and he shows that potential we saw at Ohio State, but I can tell you it's going to make him more comfortable."

Marvin Harrison's place among Ohio State receivers

Steele Chambers played linebacker at Ohio State from 2019-23. He remembers a few occasions where he was lined up across from Harrison in practice.

"There were a couple times where I got stuck on him in the slot and it was next to impossible to stay with him on a route," Chambers told The Sporting News.

Harrison had back-to-back seasons with more than 1,200 receiving yards. He caught 14 TDs both years and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2023. Chambers saw the work ethic. Harrison was on the JUGS machine catching passes after practice "all the time."

Harrison is one of six first-round picks at receiver in that stretch along with Chris Olave (2021), Garrett Wilson (2021), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023), Emeka Egbuka (2025) and Carnell Tate (2026). Jeremiah Smith will be the next one in the 2027 NFL Draft and could be the No. 1 pick.

This is part of the reason for the surprise that Harrison hasn't taken off at the next level. As a freshman, Harrison caught three TDs in the 48-45 victory against No. 10 Utah in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022 – and that foreshadowed a dominant two–year stretch with the Buckeyes in 2023-24.

"All these Ohio State receivers that have come out in recent years have something that makes them the best of the best," Chambers said. "Whenever I look at Jaxon Smith-Njigba, his big thing was he was very smooth in his route running. He was just able to get open in his 1-on-1s. Marvin Harrison, he runs pretty good routes, but his big thing was contested catches. He was making these catches in the corner of the end zone with a dude draped on top of him. Even though those are spectacular to watch, you're not seeing the separation that a JSN gets where he is just wide open running on defense."

Why did Marvin Harrison Jr. struggle with the Arizona Cardinals?

Given the track record of success from the Ohio State pipeline, Harrison seemed like a lock to have success when the Arizona Cardinals drafted him in 2024.

Harrison had 62 catches for 885 yards and eight TDs as a rookie in 2024, but that production slipped to 41 catches for 608 yards and four TDs. He was the third option behind tight end Trey McBride and receiver Michael Wilson.

Hester did not see this as an "Arizona problem." Harrison had two different quarterbacks in Kyler Murray and Jacoby Brissett, two different coaches in Jonathan Gannon and Mike LaFleur and two coordinators in Drew Petzing and Nathaniel Hackett.

"When I watched the tape, I was surprised that he wasn't able to make the plays that were there for him," Hester said. "What I mean by that is, if the coverage is here, this is the route that I run, I catch the football and get what the play gives me. He wasn't doing that."

Chambers said being the No. 1 receiver for the Buckeyes is, "Basically like being the dude for a NFL team. That's the way people view Ohio State football." Yet Harrison dealt with other expectations including his father, Marvin Harrison Sr., who is fifth all-time in receptions (1,102), fifth in TDs (128) and ninth in receiving yards (14,580) as a Hall of Fame receiver with the Indianapolis Colts from 1996-2008.

"I'm surprised how the last couple years have went," Chambers said. "I feel like his rookie year, everything was thinking he was going to eclipse 1,200 yards, 90 receptions. Now, he didn't do too bad. … He had a solid rookie year, and I feel like everybody thought he was going to take off and it didn't take off the way that you thought.

To Chambers' point about contested catches: Harrison was 29 of 63 (46%) the last three seasons in Arizona, which was a little less than 32 of 61 (52.5%) at Ohio State from 2021-23.

It culminated this season when Harrison was limited to five catches and 85 yards and a TD in four games before being traded to Houston.

"I think at some point he started pressing so much and he wasn't making those plays," Hester said. "It's hard to point to one reason, but there was definitely a disconnect in who he was as a player and what they were trying to do offensively. That's with multiple quarterbacks and multiple coordinators."

Will Marvin Harrison Jr. and C.J. Stroud work in Houston?

If it's about more opportunities, then Harrison should get those with Stroud in Houston.

"With CJ Stroud, now you have a dude in a system that can actually trust him to make those catches and can get him the football, then you start to see his skill actually show up," Chambers said. "In Arizona he wasn't getting those chances."

There also is a different role to play with the Texans. Nico Collins — who had three straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2023-25 — is the clear No. 1 receiver. That should work to Harrison's advantage.

"Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to have to be a complimentary piece, and that's OK," Hester said. "The thing about complimentary pieces, you've gotta be trusted. If I'm Marvin Harrison, like on third downs, you're going to know No. 18 is going to be open."

Chambers sees a similar outlook, where Harrison should be able to succeed in that role.

"He was pretty reserved, a guy that just kind of went about his business," Chambers said. "I don't know where he is mentally, but I do think a change of scenery and maybe going to a Texans' team where he's not forced to be a superstar right off the bat — like he's just another guy in the receiver room trying to pay his dues — I think that's going to go a long way for him."

Chambers remembers Stroud and Harrison being tight in college, and the early social media clips are leaning into that reunion. That's also an easy-to-see piece.

"You can play a long time in this league if he goes back to that," Hester said. "That was his best year. That was his most-productive year. So find that thing when you first get to Houston, make it your thing and then grow into the role after that."

For his part, Harrison kept it simple in that press conference. He is not concerned about what went wrong in Arizona or the notion of being labeled a first-round bust.

"Everybody has their own opinions. That's the best way I can put that … I know who I am as a player and who I am as a person."

He also knows why Houston traded for him.