Marvin Harrison to Announce Colts Second Round Pick

In the past few years the NFL has begun a cool tradition where former players announce the second round picks for their former teams.  Last year the Colts' pick was announced by former star offensive tackle Tarik Glenn (who should be in the Colts Ring of Honor).  This year, the Colts' second round pick (which will be their first selection of the night) will be announced by legendary wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

Harrison himself was a first round pick of the Colts out of Syracuse back in 1996 (19th overall), and in his 13 seasons with the team he played in 190 games, catching 1,102 passes for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns, winning a Super Bowl with the Colts in the 2006 season.  He is still a legend among Colts fans and is a beloved player.  He is in the team's Ring of Honor and just recently, his number 88 remained unofficially retired when newly signed receiver Hakeem Nicks changed to number 14 from the number 88 that he wore with the Giants.  While it's not official, I don't expect anyone to ever wear the number 88 for the Colts again.

Among the players announcing the picks this year, eleven of them are Pro Football Hall of Famers (five from the Class of 2014) and between them they have close to 20 Super Bowl rings and nearly 150 Pro Bowl appearances, per an NFL press release.  The eleven Hall of Famers announcing picks are: Aeneas Williams, S, Cardinals; Claude Humphrey, DE, Falcons; Andre Reed, WR, Bills; Mike Singletary, LB, Bears; James Lofton, WR, Packers; Curley Culp, DT, Chiefs; Larry Little, G, Dolphins; Harry Carson, LB, Giants; Willie Brown, CB, Raiders; Walter Jones, T, Seahawks; Derrick Brooks, LB, Buccaneers.

While the point of this is to honor Marvin Harrison and create a cool opportunity both for the former players and especially for the fans to see a beloved player announce their team's pick, I can't help but see that list and think that Harrison should have been a part of those Hall of Famers listed.  I wrote about how he is absolutely deserving of the honor, and after he was snubbed I wrote:

"Marvin Harrison will get in eventually.  Tony Dungy will too.  I thought Dungy might have to wait, but I thought Harrison should be a no-brainer (even though I knew he wasn't going to be a no-brainer).  I guess I forgot to remember that it seems voters don't vote with their brains but their heart.  Or something else.

"Marvin Harrison not getting in the Hall of Fame this year is a travesty.  There really aren't words for how terrible it is.  Maybe the Hall of Fame has become much more of a "media favorites" election than any of us would like to admit."

One day, Marvin Harrison will be in the Hall of Fame, but he won't be announced as a Pro Football Hall of Famer when he announces the Colts' pick next week - even though he's more deserving of it than some of those other players mentioned.

But that's besides the point.  Colts fans will get to see Marvin Harrison again as he announces the Colts' second round pick next week - which will be their first pick of the draft.  While it would be cool to see him announce a wide receiver, I don't think that's likely - after Ryan Grigson's press conference today, I'm even more confident that a safety will be the target there, depending on how the rest of the draft goes, of course.