Marvin Harrison Jr.'s Houston Debut Raises Big Questions

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Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Houston Debut Raises Questions About His Role in the Offense

Marvin Harrison Jr. is set to make his debut on Sunday, although it remains unclear how much playing time he will receive or how much of the playbook he has been able to learn.

The addition would be easier to embrace with more faith in offensive coordinator Nick Haley. Haley is viewed as a bottom-five offensive coordinator who has not helped facilitate C.J. Stroud’s strong play. Instead, Stroud has played well despite the offensive system.

Harrison should be deployed in a way that matches his talent, potentially in a Drake London-type role with a 60-40 alignment split, plenty of in-breaking routes and significant work from the slot. Whether that happens in Houston remains to be seen.

Harrison is not considered a bad player. The belief is that he had checked out and grown tired of the situation with the Arizona Cardinals after multiple seasons of bad ownership, coaching and quarterback play, along with playing through injuries. He appeared to be done with the situation after being put through the wringer.

There is also concern about Haley’s preference for rotating wide receiver groupings. Even after Houston traded a future second-round pick for Harrison, Xavier Hutchinson could still end up running more routes over the next several weeks.