Determining what to do at the 10th overall pick will consume GM Ryan Poles for the next two weeks. He and the rest of the Chicago Bears brass will run countless simulations. The goal is to determine the likeliest outcomes and which players could be available. Depending on their findings, it may encourage Poles to explore the idea of trading down. He is no stranger to this practice. He did it twice in 2023. If he feels the chances are good of still landing a quality player later in the 1st round, he will do it.
The tricky part is finding a trade partner who wants to come up. That requires some key things: a GM willing to be aggressive, a player the team covets, and the fear of losing that player if they don’t move up. Usually, quarterbacks are what drive such decisions. However, the Bears could be in luck. News broke on Saturday that left tackle Terron Armstead has retired. This has left a gaping hole in the Miami Dolphins’ offensive line. It could be difficult to fill at their current spot of 13th overall.
Ryan Poles sits in a good negotiating position.
Right now, the Dolphins are looking at former 2nd round pick Patrick Paul as their best option at left tackle. They no doubt hoped he could be groomed for this moment. The question is whether they believe he is ready for it. If not, Miami faces a problem. There is a good chance one of the top left tackles will be taken in the top 10. After that, the San Francisco 49ers look like an obvious landing spot for another at 11th overall. That means if the Dolphins want to get somebody they want, their best place to get is #10, which Ryan Poles and the Bears hold. The likely price range for such a move will be a 3rd round pick. If such a trade were to go down, Chicago would then have five picks in the first three rounds.
