Takeaways: Marvin Harrison Jr. is training for the 2024 NFL season, not the combination

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s pre-draft strategy is worth paying attention to. Ohio State’s reigning Biletnikoff Award-winning receiver has not sought an agent.

He also did not participate in the pre-combine workouts that most other players conduct before to Indianapolis. And all indications are that Harrison intends to continue working out in Columbus, Ohio, with Buckeye strength and conditioning tycoon Mickey Marotti, among others, in order to prepare to play football in the fall rather than run a 40-yard dash.

Why? First and foremost, because he is capable. After finishing his three years at Ohio State with two straight 1,200-yard, 14-touchdown seasons, Harrison has positioned himself to be among the top five in April.

He is regarded as the top NFL receiving prospect since Julio Jones and A.J. Green in 2011, and possibly the best since Calvin Johnson was drafted second overall in 2007. It has been anticipated for well over a year that Harrison will be the top receiver in this April’s selection.

He can simply instruct NFL teams to turn on the tape; how he runs a 40, a three-cone drill, or air routes will most likely have little effect on how high he goes.

Harrison’s great reputation as a worker and a person also provides him with more options here. That allows everyone to see Harrison’s strategy as purely a business decision, undertaken with the goal of having a successful rookie season, rather than a reflection on his character.

The odd thing is that it’s not that different from teams’ decisions to keep their coaching staffs back home from Indianapolis, which is becoming increasingly common these days.

Those decisions are considered to be made because the benefits of going outweigh the work that can be accomplished by staying home. In this situation, Harrison isn’t exactly staying at home, but it’s similar in that it’s more beneficial for a player of his quality to prepare for the season rather than the standardized physical testing that has been done at the combine and Pro Days for years.