Marvin Harrison Jr. has been labeled by many in the media as a “generational prospect,” with some considering him one of the greatest wide receiver prospects in the sport’s history. But Harrison has a long way to go before he reaches any of the marks set by his father before him.
Who is Harrison’s dad, and how did he perform in the NFL?
Remembering Marvin Harrison Sr.’s Hall of Fame Career
The elder Harrison was a standout college player in his own right, breaking multiple school records at Syracuse from 1992 to 1995. Though he didn’t put up the speed and explosion numbers that his son will likely display, Harrison was one of the best big-play college receivers ever, averaging over 20 yards per reception on 135 college catches.
There are a ton of similarities between the two Harrisons.
Harrison Sr., like his son, was part of an all-time great wide receiver class that included Pro-Bowlers Keyshawn Johnson, Muhsin Muhammad, Terry Glenn, and fellow Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.
Harrison went 19th overall to the Colts as the fourth receiver selected in the 1996 NFL Draft, while his son will likely be the first receiver off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Harrison made an immediate impact in the NFL, putting up at least 775 yards and six touchdowns in each of his first three years in the league. In 1999, Peyton Manning’s second season in the NFL, Harrison began his ascent to all-time greatness.
That year, he caught 115 passes for a league-high 1,663 yards and 14.4 yards per touch. That started a string of eight-straight 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown seasons, the longest such streak in football history.
From 1999 to 2006, Harrison amassed 11,219 yards and 101 touchdowns, averaging 1,402 yards and nearly 13 touchdowns per year.
During that time, he made all eight Pro Bowls and the All-Pro team three times. Somehow, he wasn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he was inducted in 2016. He’s widely considered to have one of the best peaks of any receiver in NFL history.
Same Last Name, Different Prospects: Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Superb Athletic Profile
Harrison Jr. is a better prospect than his dad, given that the younger Harrison is three inches taller and around 25 pounds heavier. Harrison Sr. never ran the 40-yard dash, but his speed was nothing like his son’s, who could run in the 4.3s.
However, though Harrison Jr. moves extremely well for his size and has good hips and feet, he doesn’t have the same route-running nuance that his dad possessed.
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Their body control is similar, and like his father, Harrison Jr. excels at the catch point.
Harrison Jr. has a long way to go before he is ever mentioned in the same breath as his dad regarding NFL accomplishments, but the younger Harrison has immense talent and should be a mainstay in the NFL for years to come.
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