Before Marvin Harrison Jr. heard his name called by Roger Goodell at the NFL Draft, the expectations surrounding the wide receiver were sky-high.
Seven games into his NFL life, Harrison sat at his locker on Thursday and acknowledged the start of his young career has not been as he had planned.
The rookie was asked to describe what he had envisioned. He struggled to find the words.
"I don't know," Harrison said. "I don't know."
Defenses have made Harrison a focal point in their game plan. On Monday night, Harrison recognized a Cover Two cloud scheme that eliminated him from the action, similar to the coverage that Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh deployed when the two faced off in college.
Heading into Week 8, the Cardinals offense has yet to reach its potential. Harrison, though, remains in the spotlight.
"When you are one of those guys, his mentality and his expectations of himself are always going to remain the same," quarterback Kyler Murray said. "I don't think we've even scratched the surface of what we can be, and I know it's frustrating for fans, and it's frustrating for us too. I want him to have 10 catches a game, 100 yards a game.
"We're striving to be great, and I believe we'll get there."
Harrison's pedigree allows for the hope he will have an impressive outing on any given Sunday. The offense received a taste of that in the first quarter of Week 2 when Harrison had a pair of touchdowns and 130 yards.
For the season, Harrison has 20 catches for 300 yards.
"He's great Monday through Saturday, but he is going to be great on Sunday," wide receiver Michael Wilson said. "The chemistry will get better. The production is going to show up. The person he is, he'll be the one to overcome (adversity) and reach the level that we all know he can reach."
Wilson pointed out that Harrison's job as the X receiver goes beyond just catching the ball and winning one-on-ones. As the top target for the Cardinals, he'll automatically draw attention. Coach Jonathan Gannon emphasized Harrison's presence opened up the door for Greg Dortch's touchdown against the Chargers,
It goes beyond Harrison, however. Monday marked the second consecutive game that a wide receiver did not lead the team in receiving yards. The Cardinals want to get more from Dortch and Wilson and Zay Jones.
"We've got guys in that room that are perfectionists and understand how great we can be, and we haven't reached that yet," Murray said. "I'm excited and I'm very optimistic about where we can take it. I know I keep saying that, but every game is different. You never know when it's going to pop off."
With first place in the NFC West in sight, Harrison said he's locked in on his process as the rest of the season rolls along. If there is pressure, he thinks he has the tools with which to handle it.
"I just take it one day at a time, one game at a time," Harrison said. "My goal and focus is always to get better each and every week. I think that's the best thing that I can do."
