Watching videos of football stars reacting to being drafted will sometimes bring a tear to your eye or give you full-body goosebumps. However, there’s occasionally a reaction that goes viral for the wrong reasons. That happened to Bears draftee Malik Muhammad II after he was selected in the fourth round with the 124th pick.
A video was posted of the cornerback seemingly having zero emotional reaction to hearing his name called on the NFL draft broadcast. His family and friends were ecstatic, cheering and celebrating him all while Muhammad had a blank face while looking at his phone.
Muhammad had the room filled with people celebrating him, and he just continued sitting on the couch staring at the television screen. It almost made it seem like he wasn’t happy to be drafted by Chicago. You never see Muhammad make an excited face during the entire one-minute video.
The moment Malik Muhammad was drafted pic.twitter.com/Tj71bf3oUI
— Captain Caleb (@captaincaleb18) April 27, 2026
However, these assumptions about Muhammad’s emotional response couldn’t be further from the truth, he says. Muhammad cleared the air with a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.
“In light of my draft night video going viral, I wanted to take a moment to address it,” Muhammad wrote. “Hearing my name called was a dream come true. I was overwhelmed with excitement and emotion. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity and ready to continue my career at the highest level. I can’t wait to get to work and do everything I can to make the city of Chicago proud. Thank you to the Bears organization! #BearDown”
LETS GO!! #BearDown 🐻 pic.twitter.com/I0JHGlQEHG
— Malik Muhammad II (@Returnof7) April 28, 2026
It sounds like Muhammad was just in complete and utter shock about being drafted to the NFL, so much so that he emotionally froze—we’ve all been there. He says extremely excited to join the Chicago squad regardless.
Muhammad also commented on a TikTok posted that he “literally couldn’t even move.” That does look like what happened to him.
The Bears will be excited to have the cornerback on their team, too. The former Texas cornerback scored a grade of 70.8 on Pro Football Focus last season after allowing 8.0 yards per catch and holding opposing quarterbacks to a 57.8 passer rating.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears Rookie Had Message for Fans After Emotionless Reaction to Draft Selection Went Viral.
