The rumors are getting frantic at this point, with the NFL draft less than a week away. Houston may no longer take a quarterback at #2. Indianapolis secretly covets Will Levis over anybody else. Las Vegas might trade up to snag a quarterback of their own. The Chicago Bears aren’t immune to these rumors. Two of the most recent involve them quietly eyeing Northwestern left tackle Peter Skoronski and the other indicating they’re a dark horse for Texas running back Bijan Robinson. It feels like GM Ryan Poles could do almost anything at this point.
However, Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog reiterated that nothing has changed. He said a week ago that the ultimate goal for the Bears was to trade down from the 9th pick. Now he’s doubled down on that statement yet again.
It seems clear Poles doesn’t think he will get good value on any player with the 9th pick. He wants to move down again, add another decent selection, and perhaps gain more flexibility going into Day 2. Besides, he likely knows there is a good chance he can still land a top offensive lineman even after moving down.
Ryan Poles has to wait this out.
Unlike with the #1 pick, everything hinges on what happens in those first eight selections next Thursday night. The right player will have to be available in order for another team to engage the Bears GM on a trade. Maybe it’s one of the quarterbacks falling. Maybe it is a top cornerback. There is no telling who some of those teams further down the board might want. It is possible Poles has a pretty good idea based on conversations he’s had over the past several days. The general belief is at least two or three have expressed interest.
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The hard part is waiting. The action begins at 7:00 p.m. CST. Picks take ten minutes each to process. That means it will be around 80 minutes before Bears fans get some answers. Ryan Poles likely has an idea of which players will be available. He and his staff have run several mock drafts with different possible scenarios. He will be prepared for any eventuality. Even before the Bears went on the board last year, he already had Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker circled. Don’t be shocked if he has a similar short list this time.
