The muscle Marvin Harrison Jr. has added since the end of his rookie season is apparent.
The wide receiver, who weighed 209 pounds last season and doesn't officially get weighed again until mandatory minicamp next month, was careful not to utter his specific current number as he spoke on Monday, saying only he put on some (good) pounds and will use OTAs to figure out at what weight he'll choose to play.
"I feel the same, honestly," Harrison said, noting that while he's eating well but more than college, the body change "kind of just happened naturally."
Maybe that's to be expected for a guy who doesn't even turn 23 until August, a body simply filling out under the guidance of an NFL team. But then you hear Harrison talk about playing with more confidence this season, also something he said "happens naturally."
The Year Two jump for NFL players is real. The shift could just be natural, as Harrison has said. But for the Cardinals, there is no player from whom they need that jump to come more than Harrison, their top wide receiver in a room that – at this point – has remained unchanged from 2024.
Larry Fitzgerald had that jump, soaring from 58 catches and 780 yards as a rookie to 103 receptions and 1,409 yards in his second year. The Hall-of-Famer-to-be said he had Anquan Boldin as the team's top wideout in 2005, relieving pressure that Harrison will have to shoulder.
"Marv, from the time he stepped on the field, obviously you have Trey (McBride) and you have James (Conner) but they don't play wide receiver – it's a lot more difficult," Fitzgerald said. "Every single defense is geared up to take him away outside the numbers. That's what the game plan is. When I was coming I had a lot of guys around me to alleviate some of the stress. It's tough to really compare."
Harrison said he knows Fitzgerald is "always there for me, whatever questions I may have" but Harrison seems to understand well what needs to be done regardless. Part of that is lineage, his father Marvin Harrison Sr. is a Hall of Fame receiver himself.
The younger Harrison just gets it though, a "ready-made pro" as coach Jonathan Gannon called him during a recent interview on Sirius XM radio.
During exit interviews, Gannon said Harrison showed up with his own plan of what and how he wanted to get better.
"All his numbers, his metrics are all better than when we got him," Gannon said. "I'm not gonna speak truth into the universe but just wait until this guy plays this year."
The plan Harrison took to Gannon was nothing out of the ordinary. He said he is constantly evaluating himself, every season, every month, every week, every practice. There was a learning curve last season – 62 catches, 885 yards, eight touchdowns – and while the curve should be flattened now, the learning doesn't stop.
"I heard him say he could have done better, but I think he had a really productive first year and he's well on his way to a 1,000-yard season this year," Fitzgerald said. "I talk to guys (around the team) and they say he works his tail off. Tirelessly working on catching the ball, route running, and the things that can help. When you have that kind of work ethic and determination, with a quarterback as talented as K1, good things will happen."
Harrison hopes all that can happen naturally in Year Two, in the course of his most tangible goal – more victories for the Cardinals, and a playoff berth.
"That's why they brought me here, to help this team win games," Harrison said. "Improvement for me is winning more games than last year.
"I want to get a home playoff game for Arizona. I actually went to the (Rams-Vikings) game, and it was like, 'There is a team playing the playoffs in our building.' It just didn't feel right."
