The Chicago Bears are entering a unique situation at the 2024 NFL Draft. The Bears are top-heavy in picks this cycle. Because of trades for Montez Sweat, Ryan Bates, and Keenan Allen, the Bears only have four draft picks this year. Two of those picks are in the top ten of the draft.
The Bears No. 1 pick will be spent on a quarterback, and more likely than not for USC prospect Caleb Williams. The Bears have several options for the No. 9 pick. The Bears could add an elite wide receiver, left tackle, pass rusher, or tight end, Brock Bowers.
The Chicago Bears are urged to trade down
Because the Bears have so few picks this year, Bill Barnwell with ESPN urged the Bears to trade down from the No. 9 pick to add to their war chest:
“After seeing what the Texans did in Round 1 with quarterback C.J. Stroud and pass-rusher Will Anderson last year, it might be tempting for the Bears to make a dramatic swoop by landing a quarterback at No. 1 before moving up to land a second potential superstar in the top five. The idea of Williams throwing to Harrison, Keenan Allen and DJ Moore does sound pretty incredible, although it would come at the expense of several other needs on Chicago’s roster.
While the Bears landed extra draft capital by trading down with the Panthers a year ago, they’ve also sacrificed second-round picks in consecutive years by dealing for Chase Claypool and Montez Sweat. There isn’t much left in the cupboard from the Ryan Pace era, where the only Day 1 or Day 2 picks still on the roster are tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
With needs at offensive tackle and defensive lineman and more depth required throughout the roster, this would be a good spot to consider trading down in the hopes of adding more top-100 picks around their rookie quarterback.”
That decision probably won’t excite too many Bears fans, and it might not sit well with head coach Matt Eberflus. Eberflus said at the annual league meeting he was looking forward to adding two “blue” players in the draft this year.
The Chicago Bears should stay where they are
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune thinks the Bears’ best option is to draft a player with the No. 9 pick.
It stands to reason the Bears’ primary goal with the ninth pick should be to acquire a premium talent. They don’t plan on having a high pick again in 2025, and a roster that has undergone a major overhaul the last two-plus years still needs more high-end talent — or “blues,” as scouts call them.
I agree with Biggs here. The Bears will need playmakers in the future. The Bears’ best chance of finding stars for Williams’ Super Bowl window will be by drafting talent closer to the top ten in this draft than later. I think there is a considerable drop-off between the top ten players in this draft and the rest of the class.
The Bears only have one former first-round pick of theirs on the team
Furthermore, the Bears don’t have much of their own first-round talent. Since 2018, the Bears have drafted two players (Justin Fields and Darnell Wright) in the first round, but only Wright remains on the team. The Bears owe it to Williams and the team to take the best player on their board at nine.
The Bears number of draft picks this year shouldn’t be concerning. The Bears received an elite long-term starter in Sweat with the second-round pick. Spending a fourth and fifth-round pick on starters for the offense is probably better than they would have found on Friday and Saturday this year, anyway.
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