The Chicago Bears hold 1st overall pick for the first time since 1947. This franchise has seen the entire evolution of the NFL draft in that time and its increased importance. GM Ryan Poles understands how much power he currently wields and what it can do for the future of this organization. It comes down to how he approaches it. There are two avenues. Either he takes the best player on his board or trades the pick in hopes of acquiring a significant influx of extra picks. Most experts believe he will choose the latter.
From there, the speculation becomes about which team he’ll make the deal with. There is no shortage of quarterback-needy teams in the top 10. Most of them have the necessary capital to make a trade if they wish. Whether any of them are willing to take that swing is uncertain. Former NFL scouts T.J. McCreight, Kevin Cohn, Justin Casey, and Evan Pritt pooled their experience into creating a mock draft for The 33rd Team. Not only did they have the Bears trade down, but they had them pulling off a feat never seen before.
The Bears would move down twice inside the top 5.
1. Houston Texans: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama (Projected Trade with Chicago)
2. Indianapolis Colts: Will Levis, QB, Kentucky (Projected Trade with Chicago)
4. Chicago Bears: Will Anderson, EDGE, Alabama (Projected Trade with Indianapolis)
Chicago has built up a stockpile of additional selections by trading down twice, and the Bears still get the guy they would have taken at No. 1 in Anderson.
This would be unprecedented for the Chicago Bears.
Since 1995, there have been five instances where a team moved down inside the top five picks.
- Carolina went from #1 to #5 in ’95
- Arizona went from #2 to #3 in 1998
- San Diego went from #1 to #5 in 2001
- Minnesota went from #3 to #4 in 2012
- San Francisco went from #2 to #3 in 2017
None of those teams moved a second time. Some crazy circumstances would require the Chicago Bears to pull the trigger on two such moves. They might actually have it. Houston and Indianapolis are division rivals. Texans GM Nick Caserio has to be nervous about the Colts jumping up to steal his preferred quarterback at #1. So it isn’t crazy to think he’d work out a deal with Poles to swap places. Then Indy GM Chris Ballard has a problem. There is a strong possibility new Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort may desire to retool an aging roster. He could move down with a QB-needy team from #3 to get ahead of the Colts for the next quarterback. Thus Ballard swings that deal to jump two spots with Chicago for #2.
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It is logical. After all of that, the Bears still end up with what many feel is the best pass rusher in the entire class. That would be close to a dream scenario for this team. The odds of it happening are remote, but the fact actual former NFL scouts think it’s possible makes it worth contemplating.
