Cardinals' Jacoby Brissett throws Michael Wilson under bus in defense of Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison is off to a puzzling start to the 2026 season, and Wilson has not been particularly impressive, either

Sep 24, 2026 at 3:23 pm ET • 3 min read

Through two games in 2026, it is not a surprise that tight end Trey McBride leads the Arizona Cardinals in catches, yards and touchdowns. What has come as a shock, though, is how little Marvin Harrison Jr. is involved in the aerial attack. The former No. 4 overall draft pick is on pace to regress statistically for the second straight year following a promising rookie season, and he is hearing about it from Cardinals fans and the NFL community writ large.

Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett says that the criticism of his purported No. 1 wide receiver is unwarranted. In effect, Brissett said this week that if Harrison draws scrutiny for his minimal production, then so too should Michael Wilson, whom the Cardinals signed this offseason to a three-year, $75 million contract extension.

"Is some of the noise justified? I don't think so, personally," Brissett said during his Wednesday media availability. "We just signed Mike for 25 [million dollars per year] and nobody said anything about him having two catches. You gotta try to find somewhere to make something out of nothing. The only thing you can do is go out there and continue to get better as a teammate of him and him as an individual. I think that's what we're doing."

Whether or not Brissett intentionally threw Wilson under the bus in his defense of Harrison, the statement emphasizes a few issues with the Arizona offense. The most significant is that the wide receiver group is a major disappointment through two weeks, and both Harrison and Wilson are at fault. Both trail Kendrick Bourne in receptions and yards, and Harrison's silence is even more appalling considering he ranks behind running backs Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier in catches.

The troubles go even deeper for Harrison. Not only is he not catching passes, but he is not even commanding targets, either. His four targets are tied for the fifth most on the team. For someone expected to emerge as a star in his third professional season, the lack of involvement is unbelievable.

Brissett took some responsibility for not throwing to Harrison, but this is not just a quarterback issue.

"Nobody has lost confidence in Marv," Brissett said. "The hard part as a young player is the noise from the outside telling you what they expect from you and things of that nature. Does Marv want the ball? Yes. Do we understand that he wants the ball? Yes. Is it only Week 2? Yes. It's a lot of things that you try to emphasize, like, at some point the tide will change. When? We don't know yet. But hopefully soon."

Marvin Harrison Jr. trails Michael Wilson in Cardinals' pecking order

Harrison is supposed to be the No. 1 option in Arizona's receiving corps, but in practice, that title belongs to Wilson. The latter's 14 targets are the most of any player not named McBride, and they dwarf the four Harrison tallied across Weeks 1 and 2.

To a certain extent, this is a Harrison problem. At times early in the season, he looked disengaged, running routes and blocking with minimal effort. It is also a usage problem. Harrison is simply not a featured receiver in Mike LaFleur's offense. This is not just a 2026 problem, either. Since Brissett stepped in as the Cardinals' starting quarterback last year, Wilson has been his clear preferred receiver.

Harrison's persistent injuries in 2025 are meaningful context, but they might have only contributed so much to his ineffectiveness last year, considering he remains mostly unused in his healthy start to 2026.

While Wilson earned himself a new contract in the offseason as one of the NFL's highest-paid No. 2 wide receivers, Harrison is on his way to becoming a first-round bust in advance of his first free agency.