Average Draft Position - 2.10

2005 Stats (15 games played, 15 starts)

• Receiving - 82 Receptions, 1146 Yards, 12 Touchdowns

Fire - Jim Day (Taz)
Ice - Michael Whitehead (Mike)

Taz provides our "Fire" for Indianapolis Colts Wide Receiver, Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison - Fire
Harrison is coming off his seventh straight season Pro Bowl appearance and also has over 1100 yards in each of those seasons. Sure he is 34, but he has shown no slow down and is still considered the best deep threat on the Colts. While his receptions have gone down, his per catch average in 2005 was the second highest in his career at 14.0.

Many are concerned that Reggie Wayne will eclipse Harrison as the top receiver for the Colts, but I just don’t see that happening. While Wayne is an excellent receiver, outside of 2004 when the Colts passing game went to a new level, Wayne has never been a top 20 receiver. He also does not have the speed to really get deep consistently. Harrison played one fewer game than Wayne in 2005 and ended up with one less reception, but still had almost 100 more yards and 7 more touchdowns.

With the loss of Edgerrin James, many defenses will try to put clamps on the passing game until the running game can prove otherwise, but they will once again find that very difficult to do, as they are just too explosive. Look for Harrison to once again reach 90 receptions for about 1200 yards and double digit touchdowns. He is as safe a pick as you can make at the WR position.

Mike provides our "Ice" for Indianapolis Colts Wide Receiver, Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison - Ice

Marvin Harrison has been the favorite target for Peyton Manning for a few years now. Harrison was a guy that simply never put the whole package together until Manning arrived. Once these two united, they instantly became the most dangerous tandem in the NFL.

The 1500 yard days ended, however, as Reggie Wayne entered the scene. While Harrison is still putting up very good numbers, he is slowly dropping in yardage and receptions while Reggie Wayne continues to see more and more action in the offense. Watching some tight games this year, you could tell that the new star receiver in this offense was Reggie Wayne. It was like the torch had been passed. Make no mistake; Reggie Wayne is now becoming the star receiver on this Colts team. If you didn’t see this transition almost complete itself in January against the Steelers, then I think you were overlooking a pretty big change in this offense. In a game where the Colts were being smothered by the Steelers defense, Reggie Wayne become the target that Peyton Manning relied on. It was enough for management to decide to keep Wayne around long term.

During this off-season, the Colts chose to keep Reggie Wayne, with a very lucrative contract, over Edgerrin James. James was, without a doubt, the anchor of the offense in 2005. However, the Colts still chose to move on without him because they felt they couldn’t afford to lose Reggie Wayne. The team could only afford to keep one of these guys, and they quickly chose Wayne. When you are ranking your wide receivers this year, it would be a good idea if you chose Wayne as well. Don’t mistakenly put Harrison over him due what has happened in the past.

I have to agree with Taz once again. It is without a doubt that Manning and Harrison have an on-the-field relationship that has not been seen since Montana and Rice. Harrison has had seven consecutive 1000+ yard seasons with double digit touchdowns during those seasons. He is the reliable receiver that Manning will always look to until one of the two retires. Wayne is a talented receiver, but still has a chip on his shoulder that Manning likes to ignore on a regular basis.