Should the Chicago Bears trade up in the 2024 NFL Draft for Marvin Harrison Jr.?

The Chicago Bears’ 2024 NFL Draft begins at the ninth pick. Sure, they hold the first choice too, but there’s no mystery around that selection. We’re less than two weeks away from Caleb Williams being the chosen one, both as the first overall pick and the savior of the Bears franchise. He’s been hand-picked to be the first quarterback in team history to throw for 4,000 yards and become the nemesis to NFC North rivals that the Bears are all too used to facing every year.

So, yeah, the first pick is already in pen. The ninth pick, though? That’s still blank. A name hasn’t even been written in pencil. It’s anyone’s guess who general manager Ryan Poles is targeting, although he did offer something of a clue when he narrowed down the targeted positions to three: offensive tackle, wide receiver, and edge rusher.

One of those three position groups has the best non-quarterback in its mix: wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Naturally, that begs the question of whether the Chicago Bears should make an aggressive move up the first round to try and pair Harrison with Williams.

Based purely on talent and upside, the answer is obvious: Yes. There’s no denying Harrion’s incredibly high ceiling and floor. He’s a safe pick who’s a borderline lock to be at worst a No. 2 receiver in the NFL. At best? He could be another Larry Fitzgerald. For a team like the Bears that already has DJ Moore and Keenan Allen in its wide receiver room, adding Marvin Harrison Jr. would be like giving a superpower a nuclear weapon. It wouldn’t be fair.

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But a trade like the Bears would have to make to move from No. 9 to, at least, No. 5 overall isn’t cheap. Chicago would send the Los Angeles Chargers (who currently hold the fifth pick) the No. 9 and at least their first-round pick in 2025. They may have to cough up one of their two second-round picks, too.

Your first reaction might suggest that that kind of trade is actually worth it. Fork over next year’s first-rounder and the bonus second-round pick (remember, Chicago received the Carolina Panthers’ 2025 second-round pick in last year’s draft trade) to move up for a borderline generational receiver. Seems like it’d be worth it, right?

Well, consider this: two other wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft aren’t that far behind Marvin Harrison Jr.”s grade. In fact, at least a couple of teams in the NFL have Malik Nabers (LSU) rated higher than Harrison, while others have Rome Odunze (Washington) pretty close. With that in mind, is it better for the Bears to simply let the first round come to them? There’s a very good chance one of those three wideouts will slide to No. 9. If they do, the Bears will still land an elite receiver prospect and save two 2025 NFL draft picks in the process.

The depth of the wide receiver class in the 2024 NFL Draft is why I don’t think Ryan Poles will trade up. I tend to agree with the teams that have Nabers rated above Harrison, I think he’ll quickly become one of the NFL’s elite game-wreckers. He may not have as many catches per season as Harrison, but I do think he’ll have more game-changing plays, more touchdowns, and eventually be viewed as an all-around more valuable wideout.

Am I crazy? Perhaps. But when two or three players at a position that’s already a strength on the Bears” roster are graded so closely together, it would be foolish to mortgage the future to move up for one of them. Let the first round play out.

This is the NFL Draft, after all. Maybe the Chicago Bears will land Marvin Harrison Jr. … with the ninth pick. Crazier things have happened.