Raiders need to be at the front of the line to trade for Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Raiders desperately need a no. 1 wide receiver, and based on reports for the last few weeks, former first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. could soon be available.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and others, teams are monitoring Harrison’s status with the Cardinals, and there’s a chance he could be traded before the November 10 trade deadline.
No team in the league could use a wide receiver more than the Raiders and the California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore believes now is the time for GM John Spytek to be aggressive at the wide receiver position.
“If the Arizona Cardinals make Marvin Harrison Jr. available, which appears more and more likely by the day, general manager John Spytek needs to be near the front of the line,” Bonsignore wrote on Monday.
“Multiple NFL sources indicated that fair value would depend on how many teams enter the bidding, but a third-round pick could likely be enough to land him. At that price, the Raiders need to have a serious conversation. They are clearly ahead of schedule. A 3–1 start and a competitive afternoon against Kansas City have raised the possibility that meaningful football can arrive sooner than anticipated.”
The hope of many Raider fans, and probably the team, too, was to end up with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith in next year’s draft, but the more wins the Raiders stack in 2026, the more difficult it’s going to add a player like Smith.
Smith is the early frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy this year and is expected to be a top 5 pick in the 2027 draft.
For what it’s worth, Harrison Jr. received 20 first-place votes in the 2023 Heisman Trophy race, finishing fourth in the vote behind Jayden Daniels (winner), Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix.
Is a third-round pick too expensive for Harrison Jr.?
Last week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler floated the idea of Harrison being traded for a fifth-round pick, although that estimation clearly came from a team not named the Cardinals.
“Teams are continuing to watch the Marvin Harrison Jr. situation closely, wondering if he would become available,” Fowler reported on Wednesday.
“[Harrison] would have a market, though not for a high pick (possibly a quality Day 3 pick, as one team forecasted). Harrison, the former No. 4 overall pick who has struggled in Arizona, showed a slight uptick last week vs. San Francisco with three catches for 43 yards on five targets. But tight end Trey McBride and wide receiver Michael Wilson are clearly the Cardinals’ primary options.”
The cost of a third-round pick seems a little more likely for a player with Harrison’s potential, but it’s worth noting that Harrison has put some pretty terrible reps on film in recent weeks.
Before anyone makes a deal for Harrison, they need to figure out what went wrong for him in Arizona and determine whether it might be something fixable with a new team.
For what it’s worth, there are rumors that Harrison has become lazy and hasn’t been a hard worker for multiple coaching staffs in Arizona. If that’s the case, there will probably be a few WR-needy teams out of the mix if the asking price is a third-round pick or better.
x: @raidersbeat
He hasn’t shown he’s anything special so far. If he is, then he is being used entirely wrong. I don’t think I would give a 3rd for him at this point.