Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, Ohio State Buckeyes superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is widely considered the top receiver and one of the top overall players in the draft. But it sounds like NFL teams are going to have to wait a while longer before getting an in-person look at his workouts.
As NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports, Marvin Harrison Jr. has decided that he will not participate in drills at the NFL Combine this year. And as Breer points out, that likely will work out in his favor.
“He can simply tell NFL teams to turn on the tape—how he runs a 40, or a three-cone drill, or routes on air probably won’t change how high he’s going to go. His sterling reputation as a worker and a person also give Harrison even more flexibility here. That allows everyone to view Harrison’s plan as strictly a business decision, made with an eye towards having a great rookie year, rather than as some reflection on his character,” Breer wrote for Sports Illustrated.
“The funny thing is that it’s not all that different from the decisions made by teams, more and more these days, to keep their coaching staffs home from Indianapolis. Those choices are said to be made because the benefit of going is outweighed by the work that can be done by staying home. In this case, Harrison is not quite staying home, but it’s similar in that there’s a greater benefit for a player of his caliber to get ready for the season, rather than for the standardized physical testing that’s been done at the combine and at Pro Days for decades.”
It’s not expected that this decision will hurt his draft stock at all.
