Vegas odds on Bears landing Marvin Harrison Jr. |
Undoubtedly the No. 1 wide receiver in the upcoming NFL Draft is Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State. The two-time All-American finished fourth in Heisman Voting this year after his second consecutive season of over 1,200 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns.
It is also not a question that the Bears greatly need a receiver to pair with elite receiver DJ Moore as having two incredible playmakers would make Chicago a dangerous offense going into the 2024 season. Nonetheless, they currently have the second-highest odds of landing Harrison Jr., according to BetOhio. Right now, the Arizona Cardinals have the highest odds of obtaining Harrison Jr. at 45.5 percent. This is most likely based on the assumption that the Bears, Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots will each select a quarterback before Arizona at No. 4 overall. Still, Chicago is currently sitting with a 28.6 percent chance of obtaining Harrison Jr. Most likely, if Chicago were to draft Harrison Jr, they would trade the No. 1 overall pick. This is reflected in Illinois Bet’s current odds for who is drafted with the No. 1 overall pick, with USC quarterback Caleb Williams by far having the highest odds at 84.6 percent; Harrison Jr. is sitting at 7.7 percent. Quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels also have a slight chance of getting drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. Another implication of Chicago trading the No. 1 pick to acquire Harrison Jr. is that would probably be an indication of sticking with quarterback Justin Fields going into next season. That is because while the Bears have the No. 1 and No. 9 overall picks in the draft, Harrison Jr. and both of the top three quarterbacks in the draft would be gone by the No. 9 pick. If the Bears choose to go the route of a new franchise quarterback, they would want Williams, Maye or Daniels. The upcoming NFL Combine, starting on February 26, will allow the Bears to scout which quarterback they prefer if they are taking that route. If not, they can use the combine to scout Harrison Jr. Ohio State is becoming a wide receiver powerhouse with notable wide receivers drafted from there in each of the past two drafts, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the Seattle Seahawks, Chris Olave with the New Orleans Saints, and Garrett Wilson with the New York Jets. They will surely add to that legacy with Harrison Jr. Despite the odds, perhaps it is time for Chicago to spend a first-rounder on a wide receiver. The last time they used a first-round pick on a wide receiver was Kevin White in 2015, which did not end well for a variety of reasons. Since 2015, the Bears have spent two first-round picks, trading up in both scenarios, on a quarterback. With Mitch Trubisky in 2017, this did not end well as he was just released from the Steelers. It remains to be seen how Fields’ career will go, although it appears his time in Chicago may be coming to an end. If they are to pursue a wide receiver, Harrison Jr. would be the best person to go after and maybe it would help Fields throwing to another Buckeye despite them not playing together in college.
