Survivor I - Marvin Harrison Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Recent Stats

YR	RSH	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD	FPT	RANK
2002	2	10	0	143	1722	11	239.2	1
2003	1	3	0	94	1272	10	187.5	5
2004	0	0	0	86	1113	15	201.3	5

Positives - Of course, Marvin88 had to have his namesake. But this was not a “homer” pick. Harrison’s consistency speaks for itself over the years catching almost 33% of Manning’s TD passes last year. He is elusive and runs flawless pass routes, which makes him so deadly. Throw in his repore with Manning and you have almost an unstoppable WR. He is deceptively fast and has a knack for knowing when to “lay down” avoiding the big hit, thus preserving his health. Since 1999, he has caught over 100 passes 5 out of 7 years with two “blip” years of 86 and 94 catches.

Negatives - The only negative I see in Harrison is size. Although he is elusive, it only takes one solid hit by someone like a Rodney Harrison (who head hunts Harrison every chance he gets) to put Marvin on the sidelines. He is beginning to get up there in age also as he’ll turn 33 around the start of the season.

Draft Strategy - Here is where having a high draft pick benefited me. With Deuce already in the fold, I could really look for value. At this point there were already (14) RBs off the board. Instead of falling in lock step with the RB run, I decided to couple my 2nd and 3rd round picks with stud WRs hoping that RBs would continue to leave the board until my 3rd round pick. Harrison was the best WR left on the board at this point (rated 5th), but could arguably be considered a safer pick over a TO who is threatening to “holdout” and, dare I say, Randy Moss who must begin to gel with a new (sometimes erratic) QB in Kerry Collins. There’s no doubting the offensive fire power of the Colts and it is simply a matter of who is going to catch the TDs. Marvin will get his share.