A Growing Draft Rumor Is Exactly What The Chicago Bears Want

The Chicago Bears are focused on the start of free agency next week. After handling whatever business they have planned, the fun truly begins with the NFL draft looming in April. Holding the 10th overall pick means they have a reasonable shot of getting a good player. What they don't know is who may or may not be available when they go on the clock that Thursday night. Nine other teams will dictate that. According to most experts, this might be the most unpredictable 1st round in the past few years.

Much of that stems from uncertainty about the quarterback situation. Most agree Miami's Cam Ward will go somewhere in the top five. Despite recent rumors, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders should still go somewhere shortly after him. Outside of that, the expectations were that no other QB was a threat to go in the top 10. New rumblings suggest that might be changing. Start with what Mike Sando of The Athletic heard from league executives over the past week.

7. New York Jets: Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi (or another QB)

Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, who led the team’s search for its new coach and GM, recently called Dart the “clear” third QB in this draft. Was he priming expectations for the Jets to select Dart this early?

“They gotta get a quarterback, and this might be where Jaxson Dart goes,” the exec projecting Dart to the Jets said. “They are sitting there with Tyrod Taylor as their starter right now.”

They aren't alone.

Draft insider John Vogel admitted to hearing the same thing. While he can't predict exactly where Dart may go, there is a serious groundswell for him going much earlier than expected.

Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado added to this by mentioning team that could be a threat to take him.

The Chicago Bears should be cheering for this outcome.

They already have their quarterback. That means they will be looking strictly at non-QB positions in the 1st round. An ideal outcome is seeing as many quarterbacks go in the first nine picks as possible. That increases the odds of one of the top non-QBs falling to #10. Many experts feel this isn't a great class for the position. However, history constantly shows that it gets overdrafted because it's the most important job in the sport. Daniel Jones went 6th overall when nobody expected him to go remotely that high.

The harsh reality is several teams in the top 10 need a quarterback.

• Tennessee (#1)
• Cleveland (#2)
• New York (#3)
• Las Vegas (#6)
• New York (#7)
• New Orleans (#9)

All of them have question marks at quarterback to varying degrees. It isn't hard to argue that one of them could get nervous about waiting until the later rounds to add somebody. As a result, they simply bite the bullet and take their guy immediately. We already know two of those teams will take Ward and Sanders. All the Chicago Bears would need is for one of the remaining to buy into Dart.