Yesterday, notable Chicago Bears insider Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron turned some heads with his first mock draft. In it, he stated that GM Ryan Poles would trade down from the 9th overall pick. The team coming up was the Indianapolis Colts, seeking to land another offensive playmaker for Anthony Richardson. In that case, it was Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, knowing the New York Jets were a favorable landing spot for him. Zimmerman never mentions these things by accident, so it was interesting.
Sure enough, barely 24 hours later, another prominent insider brought up the same scenario. Peter Schrager of NFL Network is one of the most respected in the business. He, too, had the Bears moving down from #9, and he, too, had the Colts being the ones coming up for an offensive playmaker.
As always, this isn’t what I would do — it’s what I’m hearing from my sources around the league…
…Indianapolis sends Chicago a future second-round pick in order to move up six slots and pounce on Nabers, the star receiver out of LSU. In an AFC South that saw the Jaguars, Texans and Titans all aggressively attack free agency, Colts GM Chris Ballard shows he has some tricks up his sleeve, too…
…After piling up more draft capital by trading back, the Bears still land a stud offensive tackle. (JC) Latham could be the second OT taken on draft night—some teams like him that much. If the board falls this way, Chicago adds a big, pedigreed bookend who can join last year’s first-round tackle, Darnell Wright, in protecting the new franchise quarterback, Caleb Williams.
Schrager correctly predicted the Bears would take an offensive tackle in the 1st round last year. His sources are strong. While teams are always careful about what info they let leak before the draft, it’s hard to ignore two plugged-in guys at the national and local levels hinting at a Bears-Colts deal.
The Indianapolis Colts are the perfect trade partner.
That is because of their strategic positioning. The goal for Poles in a move down is getting a good enough return to justify it while also not moving down too far to lose out on what he feels is a genuine top prospect. Most experts believe this draft class has around 15-16 genuine 1st round talents. After that, it’s players who should probably be 2nd rounders going in the 1st round. Dropping to #15 means the Bears have strong odds of landing one of those top guys while still getting another high-end pick.
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If Schrager is correct and it ends up being a future 2nd rounder, that would give the Bears three 2nd round picks in 2025 along with their 1st rounder. Four picks in the first two rounds is insanely great value. While that may not satisfy some fans hoping for more picks in 2024, it ensures the team has tons of draft flexibility moving forward. The only question is whether the Indianapolis Colts pull the trigger. Their GM, Chris Ballard, has never traded up in the 1st round in his career. This would be a first.
Hard pass on a second next year. You want to draft a QB? Pay up.
@TGena – the 9 for 22, 53 and 172 is somewhat decent. I’m still inclined to opt for quality over quantity. Braxton Jones and Terrell Smith are both decent contributors, but I’m just not sold on any of Poles’ picks after the second round being long term starter material. At least not so far.
And yes, I think Jones is decent for now. But Charles Leno was “decent” for a while, too.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report has a few last minute thoughts on what the Bears might be thinking — and proposes two blockbuster trades.
Check them out here:
1 Trade Package Each Team Picking in Top 10 of 2024 NFL Draft Would Have to Consider
Would GM, Ryan Poles be so creative/crazy?
No one would ever forget Poles and this opening to the 2024 NFL draft.
A second next year is not enough to move that far down.
I might use picks for next year to maneuver this year, but there is no way I am taking picks next year for ones this year.