The franchise altering 2024 NFL Draft rumor about the Chicago Bears that just won’t die

The Chicago Bears are not moving off of the number one overall pick, but they could very well be moving up in the 2024 NFL Draft to land Marvin Harrison Jr.  The Chicago Bears should make this move no matter the cost in 2024 NFL Draft capital or the potential future cost of 2025 NFL Draft capital.

Why?

The answer is simple, pairing a generationally talented quarterback like Caleb Williams with a generationally talented wide receiver like Marvin Harrison Jr. would make any draft pick less valuable to the team the Chicago Bears are trading it to, but also when you have a generationally talented passing game, it makes drafting all future draft picks that much easier on the GM Ryan Poles.

The Chicago Bears have a core of players, they have a top end receiver, they have a top end pass rusher, they have a secondary that’s locked and loaded for the next three years and they have a young and developing offensive line with which to protect Caleb Williams with.  Ryan Poles is doing absolutely everything to change the entire trajectory of the Chicago Bears for the first time in the history of the franchise.

No longer will this be a team predicated on running the ball, stopping the run and playing mistake free football.  On the contrary it will line up to become one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the NFL in the first year.

There are plenty of reasons for the Chicago Bears to draft Harrison from a football standpoint, but it’s also makes sense from a public relations vantage point.  It’s something that no one in Chicago is expecting to happen, because the Bears don’t do these types of things.

That the Bears could get aggressive for Marvin Harrison Jr. If the Patriots stay at No. 3 and draft Maye, then it seems all but certain that the Cardinals will draft Harrison at No. 4 to give Kyler Murray an elite receiver. But the Patriots wouldn’t mind trading out of No. 3, and I’ve got my eye on the Bears at No. 9, who seem like they want to make a big splash and be the talk of the NFL this year.

The way to do that is trade up and get Harrison. The Bears are already drafting Williams at No. 1, and what better way to create excitement than to get the best quarterback and the best receiver in one draft? The Bears don’t have a second-round pick, but I wonder if No. 9, No. 75, and multiple picks next year (maybe a first and a third?) would be enough for the Patriots to make the swap.

A huge move like trading up for Harrison would match what the Houston Texans did a year ago when they traded up for Will Anderson Jr.   The Texans moved up to the third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and in doing so drafted both the offensive rookie of the year and the defensive rookie of the year. They gave up a first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to make it happen.  That’s the level of balls Ryan Poles needs to show on Thursday.

Nothing would be better for the Chicago Bears than waking up Friday morning and dominating the national TV and radio airwaves with one of the biggest moves in the history of the NFL Draft.  One could imagine the praise that would be heaped upon Poles by Colin Cowherd who has been Caleb Williams’ biggest cheerleader.

To put it simply when you get the QB position right and you put yourself into position to compete for the playoffs year in and year out with the QB it makes drafting players easier.  It means that getting players wrong in the draft is easier to swallow because you know you’re going to compete because you have one of the best QBs.  The Los Angeles Rams haven’t drafted a player in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2016 and in six of the last seven years the Rams have had a winning record and in 5 of those same seasons they have made the playoffs.

Giving that QB a player of the caliber of Marvin Harrison Jr would ensure that the Chicago Bears have a dynamic passing game to build up their team to compete for multiple Super Bowls over the next decade.  The Chicago Bears would automatically have the best QB and WR duo in the NFC North heading into the 2024 season.

This is a move Ryan Poles must make, because it’s the best move for the Chicago Bears regardless of the other needs on the team.  Having two players of this level instantly makes the Chicago Bears contenders in the NFC for a Super Bowl in 2024 because no other team will field the same level of offensive talent the Chicago Bears will in 2024.