Winners and losers as Cardinals trade Marvin Harrison Jr. to Texans: ‘I was praying something would happen’

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — In the New York Jets postgame locker room Sunday afternoon, Garrett Wilson lit up.

The former Ohio State receiver who became a top-10 pick in the NFL draft was hearing the latest from another former Ohio State receiver who became a top-10 pick in the draft.

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And Wilson, who worked with Harrison for a season in Columbus, was thrilled to learn the Arizona Cardinals were trading Harrison to the Houston Texans.

“I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say this (but) I was praying that something would happen to him,” Wilson told Yahoo Sports after the Jets beat the Browns. “The fact that he did it, and it’s a place like Houston? Man, I’m happy for him.”

Who else is happy about the highly touted prospect who hasn’t taken off in over two seasons in Arizona? And who could be disappointed if the Cardinals traded Harrison and a 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for 2027 second- and sixth-round picks?

Based on conversations with players and league executives, here are Yahoo Sports’ winners and losers:

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Winners

The Cardinals’ arsenal to rebuild: It was no secret around the league that the Cardinals research a second-round pick and a trade in exchange for their physically gifted wideout. But several teams I spoke with in recent weeks weren’t convinced Harrison justified that cost. An NFC talent evaluator told me last week that he thinks there’s “zero chance” Harrison deserves a second- or third-round pick. A senior AFC executive told me that for a Day 3 pick — that is, fourth round or higher — the value would be worth pursuing Harrison, but no more.

The Cardinals took advantage of a desperate Texas team that had reason to believe in Harrison over 31 counterparts. And so, two seasons and four games after selecting Harrison fourth overall, the Cardinals not only get a second-round pick, but they get a second-round pick in the talent-rich 2027 draft, even amid the trend of trading high picks in 2028 (hello, Baltimore Ravens for Cam Jurgens and New England Patriots for AJ Brown) to save for the expected treasure in April.

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CJ Stroud: With Stroud at Ohio State in 2022, Harrison posted 1,263 total yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games. The duo connected on three touchdowns in the Rose Bowl alone that season. Teammates from their era talk about the quarterback and receiver’s quick-built on-field chemistry, the work ethic that got them in the building early and the cerebral nature that helped them connect.

Stroud has played better this season than his team’s 1-4 record suggests, completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,402 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in five games. He rushed for another 71 yards and a score. But the Texans’ receiving corps has proven to be incredibly shallow. Tank Dell has yet to return from injured reserve following knee surgery following a dislocated patella in December and multiple torn ligaments. Jayden Higgins suffered a season-ending torn ACL during training camp. Nico Collins missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a hamstring strain suffered in training. What can Harrison add? “They don’t really miss together now,” Wilson said. “CJ doesn’t miss much anyway, but when he has a guy like that, who has a catch radius like that, who runs good routes? It’s going to be fun to watch.”

Career of Marvin Harrison Jr.: This trade is likely only a reality because of Harrison’s struggles in Arizona. A combination of 2,025 health issues (concussion, appendicitis, two heel injuries) and a drop in targets this year allowed him to finish his tenure with the Cardinals with 108 catches for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns in 33 games (30 starts). This season, Harrison has only 13 targets in four games; he caught five for 85 yards and a score. The AFC’s top executive believed Houston could spark something in Harrison for reasons beyond the college reunion: The benefit of enthusiasm tends to follow a new trade acquisition, as opposed to the disappointment surrounding a high-profile pick that doesn’t materialize quickly. Another AFC executive believed that even Harrison’s ups and downs in Arizona demonstrated his speed, quickness and agility at the professional level. Turn those flashes into marks of consistency, and Texas fans have reason to be excited.

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“I know the belief system that he’s going to have around him with the Texans,” Wilson said. “I know what he can do. So for me, it’s just a ticking time bomb with him. I can’t wait to see him explode. He’s got all the ability in the world and now he’s playing with someone he’s been with before. They have great chemistry. And I saw it from day one at O ​​State. I can’t wait to watch. You guys got me excited.”

The chance for the Texans to defy history again: Since 1979, only seven times in NFL history has a team started 0-3 and made the playoffs, by NBC Sports. The Texans claim two of seven, most recently rebounding last year from 0-3 to 12-5. The Texans proved they belonged in the playoffs by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh, 30-6, in the wild-card round. The Patriots then outlasted the Texans 28-16 in the divisional round. Could the Texans bounce back from 0-4 to make the playoffs? Only one team, the 1992 Chargers, has achieved this feat. With 17 chances instead of 16, the Texans, now 1-4, have one more chance to showcase their improved roster than this Chargers team. Will this be enough?

LOSERS

The price of despair: The Texans had to do something. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans already deprived defensive coordinator Matt Burke of play calling last week. Pair that with an 0-4 start and the need to make a contract decision on Stroud soon, and Houston let Arizona get more out of the deal than less frenetic franchises might have gotten from it. If the Texans advance deep into the playoffs, perhaps it will pay off. But it should be remembered that the Texans’ defense still regressed significantly compared to last year. Holding the winless Titans to three points in Sunday’s win is better than a loss, but the Titans have been held to 10 points or less in three of five games this year, so it’s not enough to prove the group is settling down. What will it take for Harrison, whose fifth-year option decision looms in May, to justify sacrificing a more cost-controlled 2027 second-round pick in a talent-rich draft? If Harrison comes close to his draft billing, it will be worth it. But over two seasons and several injuries, as he struggles to start a new offense mid-season, how likely is that to be the case?

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The audience of the “film says it all”: It’s disingenuous to criticize Harrison’s college career and the film that propelled him to No. 4 overall. Harrison’s 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns, including two seasons in which he surpassed 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns. He showed he could thrive with Stroud, and he showed he could thrive with quarterback Kyle McCord. So the Cardinals were comfortable spending big on him despite Harrison’s decision not to participate in scouting drills. Two and a half years later, some talent evaluators are wondering how significant that decision was. As one AFC executive argued for the importance of production on the field rather than in the vacuum of combine settings, talent evaluators on two NFC teams questioned whether Harrison was “overdrawn” in relation to his career thus far, in part because of the lack of information about his physical characteristics compared to historical precedent.

“The perception was that he was fast and strong and explosive and all that, but now you wonder if the testing (would have) been a little disappointing,” one NFC evaluator told Yahoo Sports, “and if the testing had come back disappointing, he wouldn’t have been (drafted) as high.”

NFC teams outside the NFC West: The NFC West sent three teams to the playoffs last season: the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. All three won at least one playoff game, the NFC Championship held between the Rams and Seahawks before Seattle beat the Patriots for the Lombardi Trophy. The Rams entered this season with overwhelming odds for the Super Bowl, and the Niners and Seahawks started hotter than their opponent in Los Angeles through four weeks. The Cardinals were already going to be the weak link in the division, but with Harrison, the chances of an upset in the division on Sunday diminishes further. And the chances of the other three teams in the NFC West picking up two wins against the Cardinals, helping them clinch not only a division berth but also one to two wild card berths, are increasing.

Current Cardinals offensive players: Few expected Arizona to win many games this season amid a rebuild, a hole in the quarterback room and what seemed like an unforgiving schedule this year. With the Cardinals falling to 1-4 after this Sunday, that expectation might not change. But the offense’s chances of working in head coach Mike LaFleur’s first season diminish with the loss of Harrison. Even though Harrison had a lesser goal share this season, the defensive attention he diverted from his teammates was valuable. Harrison was on the field on 74 percent of the offensive snaps through the Cardinals’ first four games. It helped players like Michael Wilson and Trey McBride find loopholes in defenses, and it helped teammates like Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier face less stacked boxes. By 2027 and beyond, perhaps draft capital, a longer-term quarterback solution than Jacoby Brissett and more time in LaFleur’s system will pay off. But 2026 looks bleaker for Arizona than last week.