ESPN gives Cardinals high marks for return in Marvin Harrison Jr. trade

Trading a No. 4 overall NFL Draft pick well ahead of the trade deadline in their third season is never a good look, but the Arizona Cardinals did well in what they got back for Marvin Harrison Jr., according to ESPN.

The Cardinals sent Harrison and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans for a 2027 second- and sixth-round pick, which earned Arizona an “A-” grade and Houston a “C+” grade from ESPN’s Seth Walder:

I think this trade makes sense for Arizona. The Cardinals didn’t have to trade Harrison yet, but he will be worth more to a contending team than he is to them. It’s likely his price would sink if they waited until the offseason to deal him. And Michael Wilson already had established himself as Arizona’s No. 1 receiver, anyway.

Harrison had five catches for 85 yards and one touchdown across 13 targets over the first four games of the season. He was inactive for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions after he was told a trade was being finalized.

News of the return came after Houston finished its game in the early window on Sunday, just prior to Arizona’s own game starting. The deal reunites Harrison with his former Ohio State quarterback, C.J. Stroud.

Harrison’s 1,578 receiving yards in 33 career games gives the former Ohio State receiver “1.5 yards per route run, a 46th percentile number among wide receivers who have run at least 15 routes per team game in that span,” Walder wrote.

He continued:

That number has been even worse in a small sample this season: just 0.6 yards per route run with a much higher percentage of deep fades and go routes (24%) than the previous two seasons (13%). Harrison’s player-tracking metrics have been mediocre but not awful his first two seasons, too — 47 and 54 overall in ESPN’s receiver scores (with slightly better open scores) in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Arizona may have been motivated to get the deal done sooner than later due to the factor that Harrison has been below the standard of a player his pedigree when it comes to effort in route-running and blocking.

Other Marvin Harrison Jr. trade grades

CBS Sports:

• Cardinals: B+
• Texans: C-

The Athletic:

• Cardinals: D (factoring in the miss of the draft pick beyond just the value of the return)
• Texans: B-maybe

Bleacher Report:

• Cardinals: B
• Texans: B+

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