Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn't on the market for long after reports broke that the Arizona Cardinals were searching for a trade partner for their talented but unproven wide receiver. Harrison is the son of NFL Hall of Fame wideout Marvin Harrison Sr., the former Indianapolis Colts pass catcher for 13 years.
It's rare for a legend's son to be as good as the legend himself. In this case, Harrison Jr. is a long way from becoming the player his father was, and his start hasn't exactly gone well. Arizona was rumoured to move on from Harrison during the offseason, but only recently were the Colts rumoured to be interested.
Given the family name, the interest was expected, on top of the Colts' desperate need for help at wide receiver. That said, the name may have been an important factor in why the trade didn't come through. However, what's not best for the Colts is if Harrison's true potential gets unlocked with the team he landed with: their division rival.
The Indianapolis Colts could be in trouble if C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans successfully unlock Marvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison won't have to worry about unrequested or undeserved expectations beyond just being a football player with the Houston Texans that he might have had with the Colts. If Indianapolis had secured the trade, Harrison would be under the spotlight like never before thanks to his lineage and Colts history.
That could have ended up in a disaster. For Harrison's sake, it's probably better that he went elsewhere, where his father's shadow has no sun to play with. In turn, it's better for the Colts not to have to deal with that potential reality down the road. At the end of the day, a no-trade is probably better for both parties.
What might not be good for the Colts is if Harrison miraculously becomes a very good-to-elite wideout with the Texans, as he was projected to be going into the NFL Draft. He won the 2023 Biletnikoff Award (the nation's top wide receiver), was a two-time consensus All-American at Ohio State, and finished fourth in the 2023 Heisman Trophy voting.
The Cardinals selected Harrison 4th overall in the first round in 2024 as part of a plan to pair Kyler Murray with a future elite target. It didn't work. Murray has since been traded, and now Harrison has.
What this trade does for Harrison is two-pronged: First, he gets a fresh start. Second, he gets his college quarterback, Stroud. The pairing was electric in college, and the Texans hope to recreate the magic.
That's a problem for the Colts over the next several years if it comes to fruition, because right now, and quite possibly for the remainder of this season, there is no sort of magic in Indianapolis. Offensively, the Texans are a more talented bunch than the Colts, and they were before the Harrison trade.
Today, that talent gap has widened, which means the Colts may be up in the AFC South standings but behind in talent and skill. The Texans may be too far gone this season to make a playoff push, giving the Colts the edge.
That said, Houston trading for Harrison wasn't just for this season, but for the future with Stroud under center. The Colts are lucky the Texans aren't fully clicking as a team right now, but that could change by next season.
If the Texans unlock Harrison, they'll have the edge over the Colts down the road. How Chris Ballard counters this move remains to be seen. Of course, by next season, he may not be around to counter it. In that case, he won't have to worry about what the Texans just did.
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