TEMPE, Ariz. — As Marvin Harrison Jr. begins Phase 2 of the Arizona Cardinals’ offseason program this week, he’s taking the field as a more comfortable and much stronger version of himself.
Much stronger.
Harrison wouldn’t disclose how much he weighs or how much weight he’s put on since the end of last season, but numbers aren’t needed to see the difference. When he sat behind a microphone after Monday’s workout, his arms were larger and more defined than they were as rookie.
“Yeah, I definitely put on some pounds,” Harrison said. “I think I added some muscle to my body a little bit.”
Bulking up wasn’t a request from the Cardinals nor was it something Harrison set out to do, he said.
Harrison’s been at the Cardinals’ facility working out and training since the season ended, taking “not really much time” off. Even then, Harrison said he was still doing something to work on his body or his game. However, Harrison said one of the main reasons for his bulking up was his diet, which he said consisted of extra protein.
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He didn’t eat as much in college as he’s eating now, so his additional caloric intake coupled with more time to focus on his body has resulted in a bigger, stronger Harrison.
He isn’t set on his current weight. He’ll use OTAs, minicamp and training camp to get a feel for how his body reacts to the added weight from a health standpoint.
“You don’t want to put on too much weight and then your body may not be used to it,” he said. “But I feel exactly the same as I did before.”
Harrison’s goal is to settle on a specific weight heading into camp, when he’ll have weigh-ins for the first time. He said the added weight can help on the field especially in contested situations and runs after the catch.
The hope inside the Cardinals’ headquarters is that his reshaped body along with last season’s experience will result in a more productive sophomore season which could help with more wins.
He finished his rookie season with 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns — eerily similar to his Hall of Fame father’s stat line from his rookie year in 1996. That season, Marvin Harrison Sr. had 64 catches for 836 and eight touchdowns.
“They’re a little too similar in my opinion,” the younger Harrison said. “It works out in mysterious ways how that all worked out.”
Being stronger and more comfortable with what he’s doing on the field could lead to Harrison having a better second season than his dad, who had 73 catches for 866 yards and six touchdowns in 1997.
Last season, Harrison was locked in on running whatever route was called. His hope this season is he can start focusing on how the defense is defending him, where he should get to in his route and where he is in the progression.
“Hopefully that’s kind of the next step that we’re going to take,” he said.
That’s why the next few weeks will be crucial for Harrison and the rest of the offense. The receivers will work on getting their timing down with quarterback Kyler Murray. Harrison said they want to be “precise in everything that we do” so they can “go out there with our eyes closed and be able to complete 100% of our passes is the goal you want to be able to get to just from a timing on air standpoint.”
Until this week, NFL rules prohibited players from participating in organized workouts. But that didn’t stop players around the league from gathering on their own. Harrison said he’s been working with Murray outside of the facility to improve their timing and precision.
Harrison said his measure of success this coming season isn’t whether he hits 1,000 yards or catches 20 touchdowns. It’s team success. It’s building on eight wins from 2024. It’s making the playoffs.
However, he understands his role in all of that happening.
“I think you got to make the playoffs,” Harrison said. “I think this is the year that I feel like we want to do what we need to do. We have all the pieces we need. We just got to go out there and execute at this point.
“That’s why they brought me here to help this team win games.”
