Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett defends Marvin Harrison Jr. amid criticism of slow start | Latest NFL News, Analysis & Updates

It doesn’t help that despite spotty-at-best production, Harrison is seen as Arizona’s most dangerous threat in the Cardinals’ receiving corps, which will draw additional attention from opposing defenses. In Arizona’s Week 1 win over the Chargers, Los Angeles only left him on an island in single coverage on seven of the 33 routes he ran. He won his only press man matchup — a situation in which his size and route running gives him an advantage — on the sideline grab, his lone contribution to Arizona’s season-opening highlight reel.

Brissett, meanwhile, leaned heavily on tight end Trey McBride in both games, capitalizing on coverage mismatches to the tune of nine completions for 95 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. In their low-output Week 2 contest, McBride was Arizona’s passing offense, logging the most targets (10) and catches (8) for 41 yards and his second touchdown of the season.

It’s clear Brissett prefers the playmaking tight end as a reliable target. But Harrison still looms as a big-play threat if given the opportunities, which were sparse in their 31-7 loss to the defensively driven reigning champions this past Sunday.

“Pretty much that simple,” Harrison said. “Seattle’s a really good defense and you don’t want to give a lot of teams, especially a rival team, a lot of credit. But when you just look across the league, they’re far beyond above everybody else, especially on the defensive side of the football. So, things like that happen.”

If it were the first slow start for Harrison, folks might give him grace. But through two seasons and the first two weeks of 2026, Harrison’s productivity hasn’t come close to matching his expectations. Previous struggles were partially pinned on Arizona’s instability at quarterback, with Kyler Murray‘s health challenges limiting his availability and hindering their chances of establishing a rapport. Defensive minded coach Jonathan Gannon’s presence also gave Cardinals an easy excuse.

Now, though, the underwhelming performances are rising to a concerning level. Coach Mike LaFleur brings the offensive expertise for which Cardinals fans previously yearned, yet the initial returns remain the same for Harrison.

He hears the criticism. Fortunately, he also has the support of his quarterback.

“Is some of the noise justified?” Brissett said. “I don’t think so, personally. We just signed Mike (Wilson) for [$25 million] and nobody said anything about him having two catches. I think people try to find somewhere to make something out of nothing. The only thing you can do is just go out there and just continue to get better as a teammate of him and him as an individual, and I think that’s what we’re doing.”

Harrison is no stranger to the spotlight. He arrived at Ohio State as a top recruit, succeeded stars Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year — in Columbus, and knew he’d be a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

He just hasn’t delivered on those expectations yet.

“No,” he said when asked if he was surprised by the public reaction to his slow start. “I mean, I understand who I am and what I was expected to do when I got drafted here and all the expectations that were put on me and I think people want certain production. So, when that’s not happening, everybody’s going to ask questions or figure out why is that the reason?

“And, so, I wouldn’t say I’m surprised by anything that’s talked about me anyway.”

Fortunately, he still has 15 more games this season to prove them wrong.