Jameson Williams stole the show last week. How will Marvin Harrison, Jr. fare versus Rams?
One of the biggest individual breakout performances across Week 1 of the new NFL Season was Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams stealing the show on Sunday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams. With LA heading to Glendale to take on the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday, are they looking down the barrel at a second-straight receiver breakout game?
Williams left veteran corner Tre White in the dust en route to a 52-yard touchdown and finished with five receptions for 121 yards while adding another 13 yards on the ground. This was an important outcome for the Lions. Coming off the NFC Championship game last season, expectations are high again this year for Detroit. If they are going to get where they want to go, they need Williams to step up as a reliable, secondary receiving option in order to take weight off the shoulders of star Amon-Ra St. Brown.
But Week 1 wasn’t as favorable to Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr., the fourth overall pick from this spring’s NFL Draft. In Arizona’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills, Harrison was held to just a single reception for four yards on three targets. It’s clear that quarterback Kyler Murray and his talented, new target are not yet on the same page—Murray missed seeing Harrison for what might have been an important 50-yard touchdown in a one score game.
On 2nd and 6 with 1:10 to play, Kyler Murray did not throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. He was wide open at the bottom of the screen here. pic.twitter.com/eWqA4Al7EP
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) September 8, 2024
Kyler Murray danced in the pocket for 6 seconds and somehow NEVER SAW A WIDE OPEN MARVIN HARRISON JR FOR A GAME-CHANGING TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/HG5ysapKB8
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024
One of the main topics of discussion following the conclusion of Week 1 has been the lack of production by Harrison in his debut, but if Murray would have seen the receiver and connected with him on this pass it would all be a moot point. Instead people have been citing Harrison’s top speed from Next Gen Stats and raising concerns that he might not be as advertised—suggesting there’s a reason he skipped drills at the NFL Scouting Combine and at his pro day.
Max Speed Week 1
Adonai Mitchell 20.8
Xavier Worthy 20.2
Brian Thomas 19.8
Ladd McConkey 19.7
Xavier Legette 19.5
Malik Nabers 18.9
Rome Odunze 18.6
Keenan Allen 18.3 (fat threshold)
Keon Coleman 18.0
Marvin Harrison 16.7— JetPack Galileo (@JetPackGalileo) September 11, 2024
There’s a good chance the Cardinals plan to feed Harrison a healthy dose of targets this weekend when they take on their NFC West rivals in the Rams. The Rams are in danger of allowing a second-straight breakout game by a receiver following Jameson Williams electric performance on Sunday Night Football.
