Marvin Harrison Jr. Set for Texans Debut in London

Marvin Harrison Jr. is going straight from the moving truck to Wembley. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Wednesday that Harrison will play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, just days after Houston landed the former No. 4 overall pick from Arizona.

Harrison arrived in Houston on Monday, passed his physical that day and took the practice field with his new team for the first time Wednesday. For a 1-4 Texans team about to face a 4-1 Jaguars team, that quick turnaround is the whole point.

He fit in fast

Ryans said the learning curve is not a worry. "It isn't hard when the player is attentive and he's locked in on getting the details down," Ryans said. He added that Harrison spent his first night grinding through the playbook with assistant receivers coach Tiquan Underwood, which let him "fit right in seamlessly" on Wednesday.

Houston sent 2027 second- and seventh-round picks to the Cardinals for Harrison and a 2027 sixth-rounder. It is a bet on a talent who never took off in Arizona. Harrison has five catches on 13 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown this season, and 108 catches for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns across 33 career games.

He did not dodge that. "I think it's just a combination of everything," Harrison said. "There's a lot of factors, and I think with any situation, you always want to take accountability for yourself."

The Stroud reunion

This is the part Texans fans have been dreaming about. Harrison and C.J. Stroud were All-Americans together at Ohio State in 2021 and 2022, and Stroud said Houston brought him into the conversation before the deal got done.

"Being with a quarterback that you have rapport with and had success with in the past is always great too," Harrison said. Stroud is fifth in the league with 1,402 passing yards, and he is not sweating the install. "He's a really smart kid. I'm not worried about it," Stroud said.

Harrison joins a room led by Nico Collins, with Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel also in the mix. Fantasy managers should treat him as a deep Week 6 flex until the target share shows up.

Sunday at Wembley

The Texans face the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network, with Jacksonville serving as the home team. The Jaguars beat the Eagles in London last week, so this trip is familiar turf for them.

At 1-4, the Texans cannot afford to fall four games behind Jacksonville in the AFC South. If Stroud and Harrison find that Columbus rhythm on the first few drives, Sunday morning in London could be where Houston's season finally turns.