Marvin Harrison trade: A look at other top-5 picks who were traded ahead of Year 4 in the last decade

Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is joining an exclusive club that he may not want to be part of. The Arizona Cardinals have traded Harrison, who they drafted at No. 4 overall just a few years ago, to the Texans, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed on Sunday.

Arizona is trading the 24-year-old and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Texans for a 2027 second-round draft pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick, according to ESPN.

When the Cardinals drafted Harrison in the 2024 overall draft, like any team that picks a player in the top 10, they thought they had found a long-term star. Flash forward 33 games later, and things haven't worked out as expected for either party.

Other than Harrison, in the last 10 years, only four other top-5 picks have been traded before their fourth season. The majority of the players haven't fared too well in their careers after that initial trade. Harrison will be looking to rewrite history and turn the move into a success.

Let's take a look at the other players with similar stories and how they played before and after the trade.

Player:

Team drafted (Year/Draft No.)

Stats before trade

Team traded to/Year traded

Stats year after trade

Current team

Career stats/highlights

WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Cardinals (2024/No. 4)

108 receptions, 1,578 yards in 33 games

Texans/2026

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Texans

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QB Zach Wilson

Jets (2021/No. 2)

12-21 record, 23 TDs, 25 INT

Broncos/2024

Didn't appear in a game for DEN

Saints

12-21 record, 23 TDs, 25 INTs

QB Trey Lance

49ers (2021/No. 3)

2-2 record, 5 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

Cowboys/2023

Didn't appear in a game in the first year with DAL

Chargers

2-4 record, 5 TDs, 5 INTs

CB Jeff Okudah

Lions (2020/No. 3)

22 starts over 3 years, 124 combined tackles, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumbles

Falcons/2023

44 combined tackles, 3 passes defended with ATL

Last team: Vikings (2025)

31 starts, 191 combined tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 INTs 

QB Sam Darnold

Jets (2018/No. 3)

13-25 record, 45 TDs, 39 INTs

Panthers/2021

4-7 record, 9 TDs, 13 INTs

Seahawks

Two-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion

Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison has just five receptions for 85 yards so far this season. He has yet to record a 1,000-yard receiving season in his first two years in the league, dropping from 885 yards in his rookie season to 608 yards last year. The wide receiver's success at Ohio State made most people believe he would be an instant star in the league, but the stat line has fallen flat.

Harrison will now have a new start with the Texans, who won their first game this week, defeating the now 0-5 Tennessee Titans 26-3. Houston will face the 4-1 Jaguars, who are coming off a last-minute thrilling victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, next week.

Zach Wilson

Quarterback Zach Wilson went from the No. 2 overall pick to a bust very quickly. In his rookie year, he went 3-10 with nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The next season, he started nine games at 5-4, had a slew of bad performances, and cycled between the bench and the field all season.

Since being traded by the Jets, Wilson hasn't started a single game and has made just four game appearances, all with the Miami Dolphins. Wilson's trade did not equate to a new start for the QB, and he became a career backup after his failed experiment in NY.

Trey Lance

Trey Lance is such an interesting study, as injuries and changing depth charts left him on the outskirts of the 49ers QB situation. 

He was the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo to start his career, then named the starter over Jimmy G in his sophomore season, but an injury changed his career significantly. Ahead of the 2023 season, Sam Darnold, who we'll discuss more below, and Mr. Irrelevant (aka Brock Purdy) were listed ahead of Lance on the depth chart. The Niners no longer felt the need for Lance, with two other quarterbacks they trusted, and he was dealt to the Cowboys ahead of the 2023 season.

Lance was the Cowboys' third-string QB and didn't play all season. He made four appearances for the Cowboys during the 2024 season, most notably after Dak Prescott got hurt and backup Cooper Rush was struggling. He started one game in 2024, which was a loss.

He then signed with the Chargers ahead of the 2025 season and played one game for them, losing that start as well. Lance has only started six games in the league, going 2-4, and in his career has a 54 completion percentage, 1,289 yards, five touchdowns and five total interceptions over four years.

Jeff Okudah

Cornerback Jeff Okudah was selected at No. 3 overall by the Lions in 2020. Injuries have impacted his career, including time on IR in his rookie year in 2024 with the Houston Texans and in 2025 with the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2022, he was eventually benched after starting the season as the starter. During the next offseason, he was traded to the Falcons in exchange for a fifth-round pick. He spent one year with Atlanta before going to Houston ahead of the 2024 season. He spent a year there as well before joining the Vikings for a year, his final stop in the league.

Sam Darnold

Quarterback Sam Darnold has seen the most success of anyone on this list, though it was far from immediate. He bounced around to four teams before he found his fit with the Seattle Seahawks, where he helped lead the team to a Super Bowl win. But let's start from the beginning.

Darnold was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2018 and was with the Jets until 2020, recording a 13-25 starting record, with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. 

He was traded to the Panthers ahead of the 2021 season, and he went 4-7 with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The next season, he lost the starter job to Baker Mayfield and would end up starting six games, going 4-2, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

Free agency left Darnold on the 49ers ahead of the 2023 season, after the Panthers decided not to renew his contract. He started just one game, the season finale, for San Fran. 

His time with the Niners was short, joining the Vikings the next season, where he would be named the starter after J.J. McCarthy got hurt. Darnold went 14-3 in his one year with Minnesota, with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Darnold also went 14-3 in his first season with the Seahawks. He put together an impressive playoff run that culminated in Seattle being crowned champs.