Marvin Harrison Jr. trade grades for Texans, Cardinals after bizarre saga ends appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Arizona Cardinals ended a long, drawn-out saga as they traded former first round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. and a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a second-round pick and a sixth-round pick, leading to reunion comments from former Ohio State teammate CJ Stroud. Harrison Jr. seemed ecstatic as he immediately updated his social media profile giving fans plenty to think about ahead of his arrival in Houston.
The trade allowed the Cardinals to dump a player that is talented but seemed to be a terrible fit in their Mike LaFleur and Jacoby Brissett-led offense. It also allowed them to cut bait before Harrison Jr. lost further trade value as they gained a second-round pick in return.
Both teams made shrewd moves this time around as they bolstered their respective rosters both for now in the case of the Texans and for the future in the case of the Cardinals.
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Texans trade grade: A+
The Texans made an ultra-smart move to pair the strong physical presence of Harrison Jr. with the deft touch passing of his former college teammate Stroud. The Texans are 1-4 on the season and needed a spark in the worst way. Coach DeMeco Ryans’ team responded, beating the brakes off of the Tennessee Titans, 26-3 in Week 5 action.
Harrison Jr. will immediately bolster a receiving corps that has been dinged up, specifically in the case of Nico Collins, who has been battling a hamstring strain. Stroud also appeared revitalized by news of the trade, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers in the Texans’ win over Tennessee.
Harrison Jr. has had a rough season so far and has recorded less receiving yards each year in the NFL, a sign of problems that go far beyond his own talent profile. He had 885 yards in his rookie season but has since been subject to an inept franchise’s ways. He had 608 yards in his sophomore season before catching just five passes for 85 yards so far this season.
Through the ups and downs, Harrison Jr. has remained a deep ball threat with averages of over 14 yards per catch each season in the NFL so far. The Cardinals’ quarterbacks have had a rough time attempting to unlock Harrison Jr.’s natural talent for catching deep balls, something that Stroud will help him to do from his first game in a Texans uniform.
Harrison Jr. had over 2,600 yards and 31 touchdowns in a Buckeyes uniform, with many of those statistics occurring as Stroud’s top target in Columbus. A Harrison Jr. and Stroud reunion looks like just what the doctor ordered for Ryans’ team, and it is coming at just the right time to help potentially salvage Houston’s season.
Cardinals trade grade: A
The Cardinals deserve an A grade for the Harrison Jr. trade because they decided to cut bait with a player whose trade value was diminishing and didn’t appear to be a good fit for LaFleur’s rebuild in the desert. The Cardinals need help across the board and at several different positions including on defense, where they can choose to spend the first rounder they got in return for Harrison Jr.
Trey McBride is coming into his own as a top notch receiving target who deserves all the looks he can get, a development that began taking away from Harrison Jr.’s diminishing role in Arizona. The Cardinals will move forward with quarterback Jacoby Brissett, running back Jeremiyah Love, and McBride on a team that needs more help on defense and at quarterback than it does in terms of receiving targets.
Harrison Jr. seemed to sense the writing on the wall after Arizona signed fellow wideout Michael Wilson to a three-year contract extension recently. The Cardinals like what Wilson brings to the table as a dependable possession receiver with upside potential and wanted to maximize Harrison Jr.’s trade value before it was too late.
The Cardinals can also choose to spend their new draft pick on offensive line help for Love, whom they see as one of the NFL’s best young running backs and a future superstar in the making after they made him their first round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Seeing Harrison Jr. traded so early in his career after he flashed star talent in his first two seasons feels like a bit of a shock, but Cardinals fans could see this one coming from a mile away. After a long, drawn-out trade saga, the Cardinals’ locker room suddenly feels a lot lighter, and the team can now move forward to establish its new identity without the former Buckeyes superstar.
This trade was a win for both sides, and serves as an example for what being smart as an NFL general manager should look like going forward.
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