TEMPE, Ariz. — With one season of NFL experience behind him, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. spent the offseason continuing his progression on slowing down the game.

And with that, the 22-year-old has found a new sense of comfort at the professional level.

“That just happens with any type of time,” Harrison said. “You just feel more comfortable naturally.”

His development was obvious to his teammates in OTAs and minicamp, especially to quarterback Kyler Murray. Harrison moved faster, and second-long decisions were cut down to split seconds, Murray said.

“I’m not in his head, we’re not in his head,” Murray said. “Everybody watching the game from the TV or on the couch, they don’t know what he’s thinking. So only he understood how fast the game was moving, and each week, obviously, I hoped it slowed down for him. But now he’s at the point where he’s definitely more comfortable, and I can see it out there on the field, and I think that’ll only allow him to play faster, be the guy that we all know he can be.”

In 17 games, Harrison had 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season. Heading into Year 2, he has unlocked new facets of his game, focusing beyond just the routes he’s supposed to run. He’s thinking ahead, reading defenses in the moment and beyond, and visualizing where he will catch the ball.

It’s all the next step, Harrison said.

“There’s certain things now that you get to pay attention to that’ll allow you to be more effective,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. “Maybe how you come off the line of scrimmage, maybe there’s a little less thought process going into the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped and I think it just allows guys to play a little bit faster and have a little bit more success.”

Harrison and wide receivers coach Drew Terrell have had “constant conversations” about areas to improve in his second season and began working on changes. They talked about progressions, routes and techniques.

After his rookie campaign, Harrison and coach Jonathan Gannon reviewed the season. Harrison took the initiative and gave Gannon a list of things that he wanted to work on. And with ample feedback, Harrison went into the offseason determined to address all of it.

“I’m constantly evaluating,” Harrison said. “After every practice, I’m evaluating myself. I think that’s just the thing that you could do consistently to be the best version of yourself that you possibly can be.

“So, I’m always evaluating myself and obviously I take the coach’s input as well and we kind of come together with a plan on what we may agree on, what I need to improve on. But yeah, definitely just always evaluating myself, and I just want to be the best player I can be.”

The Cardinals set expectations for all their players heading into the offseason, and adding weight was something Gannon wanted for Harrison so he could “do a couple of things better.”

Marvin Harrison Jr. is bulking up for a massive second season 💪 pic.twitter.com/jaLwGrcFDK

— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) May 20, 2025

Petzing said Harrison did exactly that, as was evident by his media day appearance, which accentuated Harrison’s added muscle. Murray initially couldn’t believe that Harrison put on “some pounds.”

“I thought it was AI, the picture was fake,” Murray said jokingly.

Petzing said he plans on using Harrison as a downfield threat again this season, among other roles, and that there aren’t many limits to what Harrison can do.

“I think if you look at his skillset, there’s not a lot of things I’m going to tell you he can’t do,” Petzing said. “So, stretch the field, play underneath, playing the slot, move around the formation, play outside — I think that’s what makes him so dynamic.”