Fantasy Football Fallout From Marvin Harrison Jr. Trade to Houston

We had a rare and notable early NFL trade be announced on Sunday, so let's discuss that from a fantasy football perspective.

Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Houston Texans. Houston also received a 2027 seventh-round pick in the deal, while Arizona got a 2027 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round selection.

We'll discuss the fantasy football implications in redraft and dynasty leagues. Let's get to it!

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Outlook for Harrison

Harrison was the fourth overall pick in 2024, but he truly never delivered at that level for the Cardinals.

He had 885 yards and eight scores across 62 catches and 116 targets in his rookie year. Harrison regressed in year two, catching 41 passes across 73 targets for 608 yards and four touchdowns - he played in 12 games. In his first four games with Arizona this season, Harrison had just 85 yards and a touchdown across five receptions and 13 targets.

He sat Week 5, and then the trade was announced after the team won against Miami. It was a needed win for the Texans, and now they are hoping the addition of Harrison helps moving forward.

Through five games, it's Dalton Schultz and Xavier Hutchinson leading the team with 31 targets. Nico Collins is WR1 and has 25 targets across his three games played. Kayshon Boutte and Jaylin Noel have 18 and 17 targets, respectively. Also, don't forget about Tank Dell, who is nearing a return from injury.

So while adding Harrison is a possible buy-low situation for Houston, it's an intriguing one with all those other pass catchers around.

Collins isn't going anywhere, and you'd expect Harrison to be WR2 after him. Schultz is the tight end and still should be involved a good amount. That leaves Hutchinson, Boutte, Noel and Dell to fight for the WR3-5 spots, and any additional offensive production.

With all that said, I don't love the landing spot for Harrison. Of course, it wouldn't take much for him to improve upon his stats so far, so maybe this is the thing that gets him rolling.

He was likely to be a big drop candidate if he was lackluster again in Week 5, but the trade means fantasy owners in redraft leagues should hold on to him a bit longer.

I'd call him a flex-level option until we see him deliver with his new team. Depending on the matchup, you might still be sitting Harrison for a couple weeks, but I'd hold him at least until we see him play two games in Houston.

Harrison is a firm hold in dynasty leagues yet, and this is at least a glimmer of hope for the highly-touted wideout. Maybe he finally gets rolling and can be a high-end fantasy wide receiver, like he was supposed to be all along.

I personally own Harrison in one dynasty league, and have not been starting him since Week 1. This trade was a huge deal in my eyes, and hopefully he becomes startable in all dynasty setups in a week or two.

Outlook for Other Texans

We mentioned all the other Houston pass catchers, and now we will discuss their outlooks with Harrison around.

Collins isn't going anywhere, and he remains a must-start fantasy wideout when he's healthy. Having Harrison around should open some things up for Collins, so I'd say the trade bumps his value up a touch.

As for Noel, Hutchinson and Dell, they are likely to be better deep-league assets the rest of the season. They'll have games where they produce more, but they'll likely be inconsistent and hard to trust week-to-week.

In dynasty leagues, Collins and Harrison are a ways ahead of any other wideouts in Houston. Noel has the most upside of the other three, but that's mostly due to him being the youngest by a couple years.

Schultz should remain a solid redraft asset, and the same goes for dynasty leagues. Getting Harrison is a slight upgrade for C.J. Stroud, in both redraft and dynasty leagues.

The running back room doesn't get altered from the trade, although getting Harrison comes at a good time after David Montgomery got injured on Sunday. Woody Marks is the other big part of the backfield and should be a bit more involved if Montgomery is banged up going forward.

Outlook for Other Cardinals

Down Harrison, there's a starting spot and production available in the Cardinals' offense.

Tight end Trey McBride is the top pass catcher, and this trade just makes his outlook that much stronger. Expect him to remain a high-end fantasy option the remainder of the season, and to be a high-end dynasty TE as well.

Michael Wilson's outlook improves after the trade. He was already the team's WR1, and now that's solidified. He has a better weekly outlook for the remainder of the season, and should start most times. Wilson's dynasty outlook also improves after this trade, although in time, I expect Arizona to draft and develop another wide receiver.

Kendrick Bourne doesn't have a great dynasty outlook as a 31-year-old, but he's got improved redraft value this season with Harrison no longer around. He's worth adding in deeper leagues before Week 6, and could be worth some standard league flex options in favorable matchups or when there's a bunch of other bye weeks.

This could boost the redraft values of Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier, and give them each a slight dynasty boost as well. 

This hurts the stock of quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is a better redraft option, but can factor into deeper dynasty leagues too.

Arizona needs some pass catchers to step up, so we'll see who might answer the call.