Being the son of one of the greatest players in NFL history isn’t always easy.
Playing the exact same position where your father shined before his inevitable gold jacket comes and his bust arrives Canton as a Pro Football Hall of Famer isn’t for the faint of heart.
But Class of 2026 wide receiver Devin Fitzgerald, who is set to begin his junior season, doesn’t have to look far to find someone who went through the same thing.
Devin’s father, Larry Fitzgerald, is without real question the greatest player in Arizona Cardinals history (his 17,492 career receiving yards is second-most in NFL history). In April, the Cardinals drafted the player they hope will match the career Fitzgerald did, if not surpass it: Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of an NFL Hall of Fame receiver himself.Â
So naturally, the son of the best receiver in Colts history has become a close friend and mentor to the son of the best receiver in Cardinals history.
“Believe it or not, I grew up watching Ohio State and those receivers and I watched Marvin Harrison a lot,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve had similar upbringings and I watched Ohio State and Wide Receiver U and always liked his game.”
Not unlike his father’s childhood in Minnesota, where he grew up hanging out with Viking receivers Cris Carter and Jake Reed, the younger Fitzgerald anticipates a similar relationship with Harrison. Of course, his father was around the Vikings so much that Devin Fitzgerald admits that the Vikings joined the Cardinals as his favorite teams.
“I’m going to be a Cardinals fan forever,” Fitzgerald said. “But I have always liked the Vikings too and I kind of pattern my game after Justin Jefferson.”
Not to say Fitzgerald doesn’t pattern his own style of play after his father, who punctuated a Hall of Fame career by being one of the most technically sound and dynamic receivers in the 21st century.
“I say I want to play like Justin Jefferson in a lot of ways, but I will always want my jump ball ability and my work ethic to be like my dad’s,” he said.
Larry was famously known for his work ethic, his leadership, his technique and his production. He finished playing after the 2020 season, having spent 17 years with the Cardinals during which he carved out a career as an 11-time Pro Bowler and a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He caught 1,432 passes for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns with the Cardinals. So there is plenty to lean on with his father.
“There is always a good balance with my dad,” Devin said. “He tries not to overdo it, he wants to make sure I want it more than he does. But there are times I have to be like ‘dad, I need you to get after me more.”
Still, when your father is a local legend in the Phoenix area, among the best professional athletes to ever play in the 48th state, the shadow can be long. Devin, a highly-ranked three-star prospect who ranks as Arizona’s No. 4 recruit in the 2026 Class, has embraced it.
“I know that because of who my dad is, it’s going to be harder for me to prove the kind of player I am and I know that he set a really high bar because of how hard he worked so I don’t just have to work hard to prove myself, but I have to work that much harder to prove it to everyone else,” he said. “And that is fine because I understand it.”
Fitzgerald is closing in on double-digit offers. Already he has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Bowling Green, Columbia, Dartmouth, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Washington State and Yale.
With four Ivy League offers, his work ethic has clearly been emphasized in the classroom.
“More than football, my dad has always emphasized academics,” Fitzgerald said. “He wants me to go to a school with great academics. He wants me to go to a school that wants me not only for my football but because of the academic value. And he has stayed consistent with that in the recruiting process.”
An Ivy League swing to Dartmouth was a highlight of his summer, but the offer that resonated the most with the son and his father came from Pitt.