Marvin Harrison Jr is an absolute cheat code in the red zone

Things that are inevitable: Death, Taxes, and Marvin Harrison Jr in the Red Zone.

It is no secret that Marvin Harrison Jr. is an absolute weapon for the Ohio State Buckeyes. If you look at their last eight touchdowns, five of those came on passes to No. 18.

While arguments are being made for the son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison to be considered for the Heisman Trophy, we can understand why he wouldn’t be. It has become a quarterback award over the years with the exception of Mark Ingram in 2009, Derrick Henry in 2015, and Devonta Smith taking it home in 2020. All three just so happened to play for Nick Saban at Alabama.

This season, Harrison is on pace to match what he did in 2022. That year he was named a first-team All-American with 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. They are really good numbers but not enough to give him the nod over Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, or Jayden Daniels by the voters would be my guess. This is an argument for Harrison, however, I did want to take a deeper look at just how good he has been for Ryan Day.

When it comes to the red zone, all you have to do is find No. 18. Of his 19 receptions in the red zone, 16 have resulted in touchdowns. That is a blistering 84% conversion rate. This season alone, he has converted eight red zone receptions into 7 touchdowns, a smoldering 87.5% rate.

We compared Marvin Harrison Jr’s numbers in the red zone to those of Malik Nabers (LSU), Rome Odunze (Washington), Troy Franklin (Oregon), and Xavier Worthy (Texas). Each receiver has played at minimum 30 games dating back to the beginning of the 2021 season. What we found is that “Maserati Marv” is in a class all by himself. The only one close to his touchdown rate in the red zone is Worthy.

Player Games Rec Yards YPR TD TD %
Harrison 34 19 209 11.0 16 84.2
Nabers 34 14 112 8.0 6 42.9
Odunze 30 21 197 9.4 11 52.4
Franklin 36 20 137 6.9 11 55.0
Worthy 34 20 140 7.0 12 60.0

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Just throw it up to Marvin Harrison Jr. and prosper.