Everything appears to line up regarding the #1 pick for the Chicago Bears. They’re going to take a quarterback, and that quarterback will likely be Caleb Williams. No drama has surfaced at this point. Everybody says it is all but a lock. That doesn’t mean the intrigue is over for fans. GM Ryan Poles also has the #9 overall pick to worry about. It represents another big opportunity to land an elite prospect. The tougher question is who to take. Debates have raged for weeks on that subject. Some think the Bears will take whomever of the top three wide receivers that fall there.
Others think they need to grab a second pass rusher to put opposite Montez Sweat. However, there may be another possibility on the table. Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron alluded to it in his recent column. He mentioned how the Bears might be thinking about taking Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt if he is there at #9. In such an event, they would install him on the left side opposite Darnell Wright. Then he would turn around and trade Braxton Jones to a team in need of left tackle help, likely securing a solid draft choice.
While I’m on the side of keeping Braxton Jones as the starting left tackle, if Alt is there at nine, he’s a unique left tackle prospect who should have success as both a run and pass blocker and should be able to step in and perform well immediately.
If the Bears do choose Alt, speaking with one plugged-in media member, they felt the return on a trade for Braxton Jones, a starting caliber left tackle with two years of control on a highly affordable contract, could net as much as a third-round pick, no worse than a fourth.
If four QBs go in the top 8, there will be one of these elite prospects available no matter what happens at nine.
Ryan Poles’ logic is sound in this scenario.
Most experts would agree Alt is a better prospect than Jones at left tackle. He’s been compared to prominent NFL players like Eric Fisher and Penei Sewell. He’s big, strong, athletic, and as polished as any blocker in the entire class. If the Bears think he’d be an upgrade on the left side, they aren’t wrong to take him. Some may not like the idea of trading Jones, preferring to keep him as a top backup. However, one must not forget the Bears only have four picks in the draft. Trading him would get them to five, giving Poles more flexibility to keep helping the roster elsewhere.
Ultimately, this scenario would be excellent for the Bears from a business perspective. They’ll have spent a 5th round pick on Jones, developed him over two seasons to a point where he’s a solid starter, and then flipped him to another team for a 3rd round pick. That is a net gain for the organization. Nothing is set in stone. For this scenario to play out, Alt would have to drop to the #9 spot. Most mock drafts don’t see him getting past the Tennessee Titans at #7. If he does? Ryan Poles may hatch a surprise.
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@TGena, and Ryan poles first year he blew it up which I felt was the right thing to do for an aging team getting in salary cap trouble with no first round draft pick. They went 3 – 14. The next year they went 7-10. Everybody thinks the record could have easily been better but reality is reality. Poles stated from the beginning, it was not going to be an overnight turn around. I think it’s all going according to his plan. And no, I don’t think he was blown away; I don’t know how anybody could have been but… Read more »
@mbearest —
Ryan Poles needs to do whatever he wants — I just ask that we stop making all these excuses for this guy. The results of his actions speak for themselves– don’t they?
And, while we’re at it: was Poles “blown away” by Caleb Williams?
Or are we in for another month of QB drama?
@TGena, Yeah, I’ll shit myself if he get past the Titans, Giants and possibly even the Pats if they don’t trade out.
For now I stand with Poles. Think of it as Money. Teams routinely try these get rich quick schemes in building a team and it almost always blows up in their face. Poles invests with a vision for the future. Gotta have faith that it’ll work out in the long run. Some moves will work, some may not, others may be confusing until it all comes to fruition.
The Whole is Greater than the sum of it’s parts.
@mbearest — I’ll save you a seat — but big Joe (Alt) will most likely be taken by #9. The 2024 NFL draft provides the Bears with good-news/bad-news situation. Good News: it’s really hard to mess up a team that owns back-to-back overall number one pick in NFL drafts. Bad News: it’s Ryan Poles controlling the enterprise. Poles needs to do WHATEVER he feels is best, under his secret plan, to “take the NFC North. . .blah. . blah. .” But will every one of his moves actually make sense? Or at the very least, will they each be met… Read more »
No way Alt is there at #9 but IF he were, You would have to take him. Stud Left tackles, not merely sufficient ones Make quarterbacks. If the Bears passed on him there, I may have to start agreeing with @TGena about Ryan Poles.