Sometimes, good luck is needed for something crazy to happen in the NFL draft. Every year, it feels like a prospect that should have no business going outside the top five or ten ends up doing so. Sometimes, there are valid reasons. Jalen Carter went 9th because of serious character question marks. The same went for Laremy Tunsil a few years back when a video surfaced of him smoking weed. Other times, the only explanation is teams go carried away loving one prospect at the detriment of another. A good example is Micah Parsons, who somehow fell to 12th in 2021. The Chicago Bears might be seeing the same unfold with another seemingly no-brainer prospect this year.
That is Marvin Harrison Jr.
The superstar receiver out of Ohio State felt like the consensus #1 player in the entire 2024 draft by the end of last season. Hype had followed him for two years. Now things have gotten crazy. Not only is there a possibility he may not be the first non-quarterback off the board, but it’s possible he may not even be the first wide receiver. Recent buzz from several prominent draft evaluators suggests LSU’s Malik Nabers could carry that honor.
Harrison isn’t doing himself any favors by boycotting the entire pre-draft process. Not only did he skip the scouting combine, but he plans to skip his pro day as well. Such actions, while not a big deal in the grand scheme, could rub a lot of teams the wrong way.
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The door could be open for the Chicago Bears if this gets wild.
No, it doesn’t mean Harrison falls to #9 overall. The possibility of that is astronomically low. However, it now feels like there is potential for him to slip somewhere in the 5-7 range. That would be perfect territory for GM Ryan Poles to trade up. Though the Bears don’t have much draft capital to spend at this point, Harrison is the type of prospect who is worth the price tag. Ignore the pre-draft nonsense. This kid is a ready-made star. He’s big, strong, a precise route-runner, and has been schooled by his Hall of Fame father.
Would you give up the Bears’ future 2nd round pick in 2025 for a chance to land Harrison? You should. Imagine the trio of him, D.J. Moore, and Keenan Allen. Defenses wouldn’t have any answers for that. Caleb Williams or whoever the Bears draft at #1 would be in a premium position to have success right away. All they need is for four quarterbacks to go in the top five and the other team to take Nabers. If that happens, it opens the door for Chicago to maybe pull off an all-time stunner.
For all the talk of players having the right to choose where they would prefer to play, I get it. ‘merica! we all should have rights; but a business should have rights too so IMHO, here would be a good option… You get drafted, you don’t like who drafted you, you sit out a year and hope you don’t decline. The team that drafted you gets the same draft spot in that round the following year along with their current draft spot. Chances are they wouldn’t draft said player again but they could, along with another team that player may… Read more »
Or maybe one team in the top 5 told him not to worry, they were going to take him like Arizona or San Diego to replace Keenan Allen. It’s not like Harbaugh hasn’t seen him up close for the past few years.
This is why a GM must have a big board in the draft. Things can unfold in so many directions that you need something to calibrate your goals. MH can thumb his nose but everybody knows he’s a decent WR. So we’ll see.
Harrison is good but he’ll end up the 4th or 5th best receiver in this draft when all is said and done.
@Tred Yeah, I agree that college players do things now that weren’t even considered, much less tolerates 20 years ago. I think it could be changed, however, if the NFL had the stomach to do it. I say that because change can be good and needed, meaning the old way is certainly not always best, like when free agency finally came to the NFL, it was long overdue. At the same time, the kinds of change we have seen in recent years are not often good for the quality of the game itself and therefore ultimately, the ones who pay… Read more »