The Chicago Bears draft plans for 2017 have been and will continue to be the hot topic for fans and media for the rest of April. What has people perplexed to this point is not knowing for sure what they have in mind. At least from a roster perspective. Thanks to a series of moves in free agency, GM Ryan Pace has made it where the team doesn’t have a clear cut need they have to address.
That of course was on purpose. He wanted to use the free agent market as a way to plug holes in the roster with affordable veterans. That would allow the Bears to select the absolute best players on the board throughout the draft. It’s a simple and straightforward mode of operation. One Pace has stuck to for his two previous offseasons.
So who will it be then? Who will the Bears eye up for the #3 overall pick in the first round on April 28th? There are plenty of theories but not a lot of hard evidence. Typical for this time of year. However, a number of notable sources have begun to hint that the true desires of the team may rest elsewhere on the board.
Chicago Bears draft plans hinge on mobility
According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, there is a buzz circulating the #2 and #3 picks. Everybody knows the Browns plan to take Myles Garrett first overall. That’s been the case for weeks and maybe months. Only recently has the picture cleared with other spots. It seems the San Francisco 49ers are eyeing Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas with their second overall pick.
This leaves the Bears with their unclear intentions. Breer thinks they have players they like, but not at #3. Thus it’s his belief their primary goal is to move down.
“Word is the Bears like both LSU’s Jamal Adams and Ohio State’s Malik Hooker, who are widely considered two of the best safety prospects to come out of the college ranks in years. The problem? It’s the idea of drafting a safety that high, and whether the impact will meet the price of the third pick in the draft. That would naturally make the Bears another candidate to at least explore trading down.”
That by itself is a fascinating revelation. Then again the popular saying is every team would like to trade down. In truth that isn’t necessarily the case. Nevertheless it does appear like the Bears are in a somewhat precarious spot. Safeties aren’t usually supposed to go that high in a draft and none of the quarterbacks are deemed worthy of the #3 pick. So is this correct? Are they genuinely looking to move down? Breer’s stance was indeed confirmed by local Bears beat writer Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.
“The draft is a fluid process where teams treat their boards like state secrets. The best-case scenario for the Bears – in their minds – is probably to trade the third overall pick. Moving back from No. 3, however, may not be an option in a draft without a consensus top quarterback.”
Pace is no stranger to movement early in the draft. Last year alone he traded up from #11 to #9 in the first round to get Leonard Floyd. Then in the second round he traded down twice before selecting Cody Whitehair. He doesn’t fear moving in either direction. That signals a clear trust in his draft board and the ability of his front office to evaluate players.
If Adams and Hooker are indeed primary targets, then a move down would make sense. Perhaps between the 6-10 range. Of course it’s easy to say that. It’s far more difficult to do it. Finding a team that wants to move up is always the hard part. Who would do it this year? Thus far the only ones that keep coming up are the Jets, Panthers and Browns. Yet even they can’t be considered strong candidates.
Finding the right fit
The Jets need help at quarterback. Chicago would certainly have an interesting offer. Presuming San Francisco took Thomas as predicted, it would mean the #3 pick guarantees a team their choice of whichever QB they wanted. Not a bad selling point. At the same time the Jets wouldn’t have to feel desperate. It’s hard to imagine either the Jaguars at #4 or Titans at #5 taking a quarterback.
The Panthers? Rumors are strong they have eyes for LSU running back Leonard Fournette. Not a surprise. They are a team build around old school football. That means defense and power running. When it click for them in 2015, they went 15-1. Pairing Fournette with Cam Newton on that offense? Yes please.
The Browns are the most equipped team for a move up if they wished. They have the litany of extra picks for it. Since Garrett will be their choice at #1, there is a strong possibility they may wish to jump back up for a quarterback they covet. Of course they sit at #12 with their second pick in the first round. Would the Bears be comfortable dropping back that far? Impossible to know for sure.
One thing is clear. This team can’t hide their desire to get out of what has become a difficult draft slot. In the end they may have to make the pick at #3. Still, don’t count Ryan Pace out. He’s shown multiple times already in his young career that he can swing surprising trades when they’re least expected.
