The Chicago Bears have managed to hatch plenty of surprises in the 1st round over the past decade. There was the trade up from #3 to #2 to get Mitch Trubisky in 2017, then going from #20 to #11 in 2021 for Justin Fields. Then, in 2023, they traded down twice from #1 overall before taking Darnell Wright. This team doesn’t seem able to do things with any sense of normalcy. It always seems like they have to make a spectacle of the action. Could GM Ryan Poles do it again on Thursday night later this month?
Pro Football Focus seems to think so. They believe the Bears will pull off a blockbuster move in the 1st round by trading up to #2 overall with the Cleveland Browns to select star Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter.
2. TRADE Chicago Bears: EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State
Trade terms: Bears receive Pick No. 2; Browns receive Pick Nos. 10, 39 and 148 and a 2026 first-round pickThe Bears evidently believe their roster can win now and have been aggressive to maximize that opportunity. What’s more aggressive than jumping into the top three to grab the best pass rusher in the class? Dayo Odeyingbo is a solid veteran signing, but Carter’s 93.0 PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets would raise Chicago’s defense into the upper echelon and is well worth the price needed to acquire him.
This would unquestionably be a win-now move. Carter is seen by many as the best or second-best prospect in the entire class alongside Travis Hunter. He’s drawing comparisons to Micah Parsons and Von Miller. The Bears haven’t had somebody of that caliber since Khalil Mack left. Pairing him with Montez Sweat could transform their defense into something special.
The Chicago Bears need to be sure if they do this.
Such a move only happens if a team believes it is on the cusp of a Super Bowl push. Does Poles have the right to feel they’re that close? The team hasn’t posted a winning record since 2018. They’re breaking in a new coaching staff. It feels like such a move would be unnecessarily reckless, even for a prospect as good as Carter. Poles has never been shy about being aggressive, but the Chicago Bears are already light on draft picks over the next two years, with seven this year and six in 2026. Giving away even more runs the risk of sacrificing their long-term future, especially if Carter doesn’t live up to the hype. Anything is possible, but this feels like something that is a little too aggressive for where the team is at right now.
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Hmmmm, Sanborn wasn’t athletic, but he was smart, and a good football player. Please make it stop, my ears can’t take the screech of that whistle.
@Berry, of course he couldn’t pick Patty, Josh or Lamar. They aren’t available. Teams that have those QBs aren’t firing their coaches. But as a new coach, one of the few blessed each cycle of being able to choose his destiny, he picked the Bears primarily because they have the QB he thinks he can develop. Yes, I know he got $13 mil annually but that was going to be the case wherever he went. He could have chosen a place like New York, where he could start anew with his pupil and draft or find the QB of his… Read more »
The Bears need a few real FB players on both sides of the ball like LB Sanborn, RB Herbert, LG Teven and a couple of others, but they did not fit the magical profiles. Keeping Poles, Cunningham, Kramer, and Robinson and then removing those players is a sad and sickening injustice.
Yeah, I agree, this ain’t going to happen! It would be stupid considering that the draft doesn’t ebb and flow like others, there’s a lot of equality in this particular draft. Where a player in the first round might be just as good as someone in the third round. And it stands to reason doesn’t it? Historically, every pro bowl player was not selected in the first round! Look for football players, not the best athletes, but the best football players! Jacks Sanborn was a prime example! He put up a lot of numbers and always was in the right… Read more »
My HC BEN simply wanted to coach the Chicago Bears regardless of the QB. Plus, he is a Cubs fan. He also desired to raise his family in the northern Chicago area. I think he liked George and Virginia too. He certainly did not prefer to work with Poles, Cunningham, or Warren.