The Chicago Bears sit in the perfect position. They hold the top pick in the NFL draft. Several teams in the top 10 alone need a quarterback. After a stellar showing at the combine, it’s easy to believe those teams have found at least one guy they’re smitten with. Everybody knows Houston is likely to take one at #2 overall. That means if teams don’t want to risk losing their guy, they must get the #1 pick. GM Ryan Poles understands this well and has utilized his leverage to the utmost.
He told Peter King of NBC Sports several key details. For one, he’s already been in contact with three teams regarding the picks. He is confident he can get a future 1st round pick in both 2024 and 2025. It’s merely a matter of squeezing the absolute most out of any deal he gets. That will likely involve negotiating with the most desperate teams. King has a pretty good idea of who those are. There are two he believes are the most aggressive in their push for that #1 spot.
Both have remarkably similar situations.
“The aggressors: Indianapolis and Carolina. The Colts have had a different starting quarterback five years in a row, and haven’t won a playoff game in the last four seasons. GM Chris Ballard is under the gun, and he knows it. I think if he falls in love with one of the top passers, he’ll overpay for him. Carolina could be more desperate. The owner, David Tepper, has made it clear internally he wants a long-term answer at quarterback, and he wants it now. Indianapolis wouldn’t have to trade as much as Carolina for the pick, because it’d be moving up three spots. But the Panthers might be willing to overpay relative to the Colts, and if the Bears have enough “blue” players on the board to ensure they’d get one picking at nine, I could see them taking that deal.”
The Chicago Bears have no reason to rush.
If anything, the longer they way, the more desperate these teams will get. The veteran quarterback market is already drying up. Derek Carr signed in New Orleans. Aaron Rodgers appears headed for New York. Daniel Jones and Geno Smith signed extensions. Lamar Jackson got franchise tagged. So unless a team is willing to bank on Jimmy Garoppolo being their savior, they must look for that salvation in the draft. The way momentum is building, it’s clear at least three of the top four quarterbacks will be gone before the sixth pick.
Forget the idea of waiting for the guy you want to fall. That’s not happening. Houston and Indianapolis are both taking one at #2 and #4. So if a team doesn’t want them to steal the guy they think is a franchise quarterback, the Chicago Bears are the team to call. Poles has stated he’s in no rush. Nor should he be. He can take this all the way up to the draft if he wants. Smart money says a deal probably happens around late March or early April once the quarterback picture becomes solidified.
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By then, Jim Irsay or David Tepper may have lost their patience.
Ee Cummings: not OT , but wish Payne wasn’t tagged. Hopefully, there will be someone suitable that they can plug-in in place of Payne. There’s other FA’s out there.
This will seem a little off topic and I will admit that I have a Daron Payne fixation but the conversation about Washington going for Lamar brings up the whole idea that they cannot afford to carry through with a franchise tag on him. They would need to add at least $25 million in cap space to make a run at Jackson and that is a lot of $$ from a lot of contracts if you try to get concessions from players (cutting the big contract players is even worse because of dead cap. I don’t think Payne has signed… Read more »
# 54 was the 9th pick in 2000! There still will be blue chip talent there if the scouts are savvy enough. Pretty sure Jaxson S-N could be had at 9 and others. If you can get 9, 2024/2025 1st round picks and some other throw in compensation I’d totally pull the trigger.
If a team wants a pure pocket passer, Stroud’s larger frame and stronger arm may be enticing. As for Young, he may not have the size that Stroud does, but he more than makes up for that in other areas. He may not be a fantastic runner, but he still has a great ability to escape the pocket and make plays when he needs to. Young will likely have a subpar offensive line for his first couple seasons, so that elusiveness could come in handy. Bottom line is… If a team’s offense is more pass-heavy, then Stroud makes sense due… Read more »
Sam Backus agreed, a couple of the long-winded GM wannabes on this site may lead the charge against Poles. LOL