Ohio State Buckeyes’ star wide receiver, Marvin Harrison, Jr. gets the Matt Waldman RSP Boiler Room treatment thanks to a bad habit with his attack of targets away from his frame on specific routes.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. is a top wide receiver prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft class. He would have been for the 2023 class if he were eligible. The comps to A.J. Green are rolling in thanks to his build, aspects of his route running, and strong performances on a big stage.
Let’s slow our roll on the links to Green’s game for now. If there’s an NFL receiver who stylistically has some similarities to Harrison, it’s not one that will get as many fans as excited and that’s Rams wideout Van Jefferson.
Perhaps that excitement would have been stronger 3-4 years ago when a contingent of media scouts and college fans were raving about Jefferson’s route running and his lineage to former NFL wide receiver and position coach, Shawn Jefferson. However, Jefferson (and his dad, too) had some issues with dropping the football at the highest levels of football.
It didn’t make either Jefferson a bad NFL player, but it didn’t make them the best of the best at their levels of football. The margin between a capable starter and a top starter is razor-thin.
It’s something that fantasy analysts, hobbyists, and fans don’t always understand. They’re so production-focused, that Van Jefferson may be considered “bad” in the context of their game, rather than “capable” for the NFL game.
If Harrison wants to transcend the capable tier into the upper echelons of NFL receiving and become a fantasy favorite, he’ll have to improve his attack of the football. When you watch Jefferson and Harrison in the video below, you may wonder how players at this level can still make these fundamental mistakes that some of you were taught in Pop Warner or at least in high school football.
Keep this in mind: There is no national standard for how coaches teach players the game. Players come from a wide range of developmental experiences.
Even if that player has a father who is a professional wide receiver coach (Jefferson) or one of the greatest NFL receivers of all time (Harrison), there are a lot of details to master. Football is a fast game that gets faster as you ascend toward a career in the sport. Combining those details with the speed of the game takes work, experience, and time.
If I asked you to speak in public, many of you armchair critics who would point out how stiff the speaker looks would probably not know what to do with your hands–even though you’ve been speaking and using your hands for decades.
Don’t panic just yet over Harrison’s lapses. Just understand that he has a lot of excellent traits and skills but one that could temporarily hold him back from being immediately great if he doesn’t correct it in 2023.
And of course, if you want to know about the rookies from this draft class, you will find the most in-depth analysis of offensive skill players available (QB, RB, WR, and TE), with the 2023 Rookie Scouting Portfolio for $21.95.
Matt’s new RSP Dynasty Rankings and Two-Year Projections Package is available for $24.95
If you’re a fantasy owner and interested in purchasing past publications for $9.95 each, the 2012-2022 RSPs also have a Post-Draft Add-on that’s included at no additional charge.
If you’re a fantasy owner and interested in purchasing past publications for $9.95 each, the 2012-2022 RSPs also have a Post-Draft Add-on that’s included at no additional charge.
Best yet, proceeds from sales are set aside for a year-end donation to Darkness to Light to combat the sexual abuse of children.