“Why Would You Pick the Bears?”: Marvin Harrison Jr. in Hot Water Over Accusations of Draft Tampering for Caleb Williams

From Jim Harbaugh cooking up mind games to draft him to him trying to manipulate the draft, odd charges continue to be brought up against wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Going by the mock draft released by the former NFL general manager, Mike Tannenbaum, Harrison Jr. is in a hot water situation. 

Against him, accusations have been brought up that in pursuit of playing with Caleb Williams, the player wants to land with the Chicago Bears, resorting to the act of tampering. However, Ben Maller could not let it go out this way and took charge to decode the situation. 

Maller’s analysis behind Harrison Jr.’s ‘plan’

Maller has taken this up on the show, questioning the ultimate motive that would have led Harrison Jr. to do so, as brought up in the mock draft. It left the analyst questioning the wide receiver’s action, “We aren’t saying it’s impossible that this is going on, but why would you pick the Bears? How many receivers over the last you know, how old you are, your life, whatever, how many receivers have gone to Chicago and just fallen off the map?”

In this year’s NFL Draft, Harrison Jr. is the only wide receiver among many quarterbacks who will have a pick within the Top 10. In this case, he has a significant advantage, having no competition whatsoever. This led Maller to say, “Would you not go fully cuckoo for cocoa puffs and try to end up with the Chiefs or say the Buffalo Bills, who need a No. 1 receiver.” Even though Harrison Jr. is used to big expectations, Maller fails to find out why he would like to pair up with Caleb Williams. Meanwhile, it was discovered that he expressed his desire to be with the Arizona Cardinals, as revealed by his confidant. 

Harrison Jr.’s chances in Arizona Cardinals

As offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. recalled, when he went to his alma mater, Ohio State, it was a time for a reunion with his former teammate, Harrison Jr. During the conversation, the wide receiver expressed his belief that the Cardinals needed a player like him. Endorsing his talents, Harrison Jr. highlighted himself as an elite playmaker who can instantly help an offense. In an interview with ESPN, Johnson Jr. revealed, “We’ve been talking about it since then. He definitely said he would love to be a Cardinal.”

After their WR1, Marquise Brown, left in free agency; the position has been left in a void. However, in taking up his desired place in Arizona, there remains an obstacle to trading down. As pointed out by Peter Schrager, the Cardinals are expected to root for the Ohio State star wide receiver with the No. 4 pick only if they don’t trade down, “If the Cardinals sit pretty at four, Harrison, I’m told, is the pick, but they could move out.”

However, if it trades down, the NFL Scouting Department has predicted that even though the Cardinals have six draft picks in the top 90, they will not get a second chance to draft a player of Harrison Jr.’s caliber. Being a class of his own, the wide receiver will have an advantage over LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze.