Marvin Harrison Jr. Receives Hall of Fame Grade

There are certain athletes in the world that when you watch them play you are just left in awe and think to yourself, no way that person is human. Poetically, that brings us to Ohio State wide receiver (WR) Marvin Harrison Jr.

He’s in that rare group of special athletes that has lifted him from being an under-ranked recruit, to be a top-five lock in the 2024 NFL Draft.

This Buckeyes superstar has a skillset as a receiver that makes it almost seem as if he was created by artificial intelligence in a lab to become an all-time great prospect.

Can you tell I’m excited about Harrison?

Athletic ability data

Listed as a towering 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Harrison has the height and the frame to add even more weight to be a successful WR at the next level. He’s gone on record saying he expects to run a sub 4.4 (40-yard-dash) and has recorded a 3.94 shuttle. These are insane numbers for an athlete his size. Harrison shows elite separation ability as he gets in and out of his breaks using his NFL vet-like timing while running his routes using elite feet and agility to create throwing windows. Harrison knows defenders are scared of his speed. This makes him deadly on comebacks, crossing, and inward-angled breaking routes. Defenders switch to press coverage bringing the defender in closer to the line of scrimmage. However, if he gets a clean release, Harrison is lethal on go routes and the deep post leaving defensive backs in the dust.

Having a Hall of Fame father, Marvin Harrison Sr., a former receiver with the Colts, definitely rubbed off on his son.

Football IQ

Harrison is a very intelligent football player. He’s able to find soft spots in zone coverage on all three route levels on the field (short, intermediate, and deep). He’s also sometimes able to be fast and crafty enough to navigate through double teams creating angles for the quarterback to get him the ball. This Buckeyes receiver’s top NFL skills are his body control and ball skills. It seems like he’s programmed to make a typical ’50-50′ ball an 80-20 ball (his favor). He does this using his long arms and ball-tracking skills to catch. There are examples of him making back shoulder grabs and catches mid-route when he is adjusting to the ball – – and he leaves the defender not knowing where the ball is. It stands out how Harrison is in good communication with his quarterback. This makes him the ultimate security blanket when the quarterback is flushed out.

Remember the game against Georgia?

An example of this was found in this past Peach Bowl when his then quarterback C.J. Stroud is seen scrambling due to the pressure of Georgia’s defensive line – – and then signals for Harrison to cut it back inside. Harrison responded by doing a great double move for a touchdown.

Faults and errors

Nobody is perfect, not even Harrison.

On film, Harrison has a hard time creating movement when blocking in the run game. In the passing game, he sometimes has issues releasing cleanly against press coverage releases.

Now, Harrison is so good that one may consider this ‘nit-picking,’ and I would probably agree. If he adds added muscle in an NFL weight room, I wouldn’t expect to see these issues going forward.

Scouting Report

Game Film Evidence (2022)

Michigan

Penn State

Georgia

(2023)

Indiana

Western Kentucky

Get his gold jacket ready.

His game film shows great speed, ball skills, and hands. He joins former NFL legendary receivers Calvin Johnson, Julio Johnson, Ja’Marr Chase, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald as the greatest receiver prospects of the 21st century. A true No. 1 receiver, Harrison is ready for the task. Once he cleans up these ‘minor flaws,’ it will be all but over.

Tatum Round Grade: First-Round (Hall of Fame Projection)

Looking Forward To:

The matchups vs. Penn State and Michigan this season because big-time players make big-time plays in big games. I am expecting Ohio State’s quarterback, Kyle McCord to lean heavily on Harrison. Additionally, I want to see Harrison improve his releases against press-man coverage off the line of scrimmage.

Rashad Tatum has been a deep-rooted fan of football since his grandpa introduced him to the game at the age of five years old. He’s from Houston, Texas. He uses YouTube and All22 film to break down prospects to give his direct analysis of players. Rashad has a trained eye developed by his former high school coach Steve Strahan who was in the NFL and played at Baylor University. He currently covers the top-rated prospects in the NFL Draft for Firstroundmock.com. When writing about football he lives by the motto “Lover of football, fan of no team.”