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ARIZONA CARDINALS

‘Just keep going’: Kendrick Bourne stands by Marvin Harrison Jr. during scrutiny

Bourne is optimistic that fellow Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. can turn his season around after a slow start.

Watch: Kendrick Bourne defends Marvin Harrison Jr: 'He's going to have a big game' | 9 mins

After a zero-catch effort in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is being heavily criticized.

People are calling him a bust, pointing out what looks like a lack of effort and questioning whether he’ll ever live up to the hype he had when the Cardinals drafted him fourth overall in 2024.

Now in his third year, he’s only totaled one catch through the first two weeks.

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But teammate and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne came to Harrison Jr.’s defense on Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke.

“Regardless of how hard it gets, everyone’s career has ups and downs,” Bourne said. “I’m always encouraging him throughout the game and week to just stay confident.”

Harrison Jr. totaled 885 yards his rookie season, and then 608 in his second year. However, so far through two games in his third season, the only pass he’s caught went for 33 yards.

Despite the lack of production so far, Bourne isn’t worried.

“The ball will find you. It didn’t find you last week, but you just have to keep going,” Bourne said. “I truly believe he’s going to have a big game, man.”

Despite the chatter and criticism, Harrison hasn’t let the outside noise get to him at all, according to Bourne.

“Seeing his interview and how his energy was, how he’s not being a diva about it, I respect it so much,” Bourne said.

With Week 3 looming, the Cardinals will be facing Bourne’s former team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Bourne is looking forward to playing against some of his friends, he said, as well as Harrison Jr. breaking the narrative.

Ethan Kinney is a digital intern for Arizona Sports and is a super contributor for FanSided - Dunking with Wolves. He was born and raised in a small town in New Hampshire and is currently a senior studying sports journalism at the Walter Cronkite… Read more

Comments

4 Comments

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John Perry 3 weeks ago

They didnt draft him 4th overall to have just a big game. I understand not everyone top draft pick is going to be Fitz level, but come on man. 3rd year and he is worse than his rookie year. Referring to last year up until now.

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Lacey Barkley 3 weeks ago

You SHOULD be reluctant to mention it. Michael Wilson was a 1000 yard receiver last year and our TE has set NFL receiving records. Kyler tried to force the ball to MHJ, FFS. Marv has NO excuses. He's a bust.

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TheReal AZNative 3 weeks ago

I'm kind of reluctant to mention it but anyway.... who was behind center in Marv's first three years? K1 (2024), K1 for a few games and JB the rest (2025), JB 2026. Correlation for his decline? Maybe, I dunno. I also remember people like us grousing that Marv didn't have better stats his rookie year given his draft status and relatively low production from the other WR's in 2024 (Wilson, Dortch, Jones). Not defending the dude (because he does look lazy on plays that aren't coming his way), just throwing out some possibilities.