Former WR has bold take about Marvin Harrison Jr. skipping pro day

Ohio State Buckeyes star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. generated numerous headlines by not working out at the NFL Scouting Combine and by skipping his pro day workout. 

According to Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun, retired wideout James Jones offered somewhat of a surprising reaction to Harrison's pre-draft decisions during a Friday appearance on the FS1 "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program. 

"For me, I don't like this at all," Jones said about Harrison. "I truly don't. The main reason I don't like this is because I'm a competitor. I understand this man is in a great situation. Turn the tape on. But there's a lot of dudes like that. (Hall of Famer) Calvin Johnson was like that." 

NFL insiders Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk were among those who previously noted that Harrison had little to lose by not working out at either the NFL Combine or Ohio State's pro day. Harrison also skipped his media availability at the NFL Combine that, as Florio mentioned, was entirely voluntary. 

"And if we're really keeping it 100, Calvin Johnson was better than you in college," Jones added in an apparent message to Harrison. "Calvin Johnson had a pro day. There's a lot of dudes who had your talent, if not better talent, that still had the pro day."

Jones ultimately could be right in that Harrison may never be enshrined in Canton or be viewed as a legend for any one club. Harrison likely isn't losing sleep about such matters, largely because his draft stock probably is today what it was back in the middle of February. 

As recently as Wednesday, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller predicted in a mock draft that the Los Angeles Chargers will make Harrison the fifth overall pick of the actual player-selection process and the first receiver taken on the night of April 25. 

The Arizona Cardinals probably will select Harrison with the fourth pick unless they either use that choice to acquire a quarterback who could eventually replace Kyler Murray or trade that asset to a team looking to grab a signal-caller.

If anything, Harrison may prove to be somewhat of a pioneer regarding how future top-tier prospects handle their business in the months and weeks leading up to a draft.