The Chicago Bears have been radio silent for most of the past month. Their only notable bit of news was releasing defensive end, Al-Quadin Muhammad. All of the noise around them has come from outside sources. Discussions center around what they plan to do in free agency and the draft. GM Ryan Poles has more cap space than anybody and the #1 overall pick on top of it. He is well-positioned to change the landscape of his entire organization. People are desperate to know what his plans are.
Most theories center around what he'll do with that top pick. He could use it on the best defender in the class to help out a beleaguered defensive line. He could trade Justin Fields and use the pick to draft his replacement at quarterback. However, the most popular idea is Poles will trade down from the #1 spot with a team desperate for a QB. Mike Jones of The Athletic offered some thoughts on what he sees happening. Poles will trade down, but not in the way most people expect.
He'll take the indirect approach.
"The Houston Texans trade up to No. 1
With the veteran quarterback business taken care of in March, attention shifts to April’s draft. The Chicago Bears hold the top pick, but the promising, third-year quarterback Justin Fields gives them flexibility. GM Ryan Poles trades down from No. 1, recouping additional draft picks from the quarterback-needy Texans. DeMeco Ryans and the Texans, who enter this draft with extra picks thanks to last year’s Deshaun Watson deal with Cleveland, move up from No. 2 to No. 1 to position themselves to draft Alabama’s Bryce Young. Not only do the Texans succeed in finding their quarterback of the future, but they also block divisional rival Indianapolis from taking the top passer in the draft.
The Indianapolis Colts trade up to No. 2
The Bears aren’t done yet. Poles gets a desperate call from the Colts and trades down once again, receiving the fourth pick in this year’s draft, as well as other premium selections this year and next, to continue to assemble Fields’ supporting cast. The Colts and new coach Shane Steichen use that No. 2 pick to draft Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, who gives the former Eagles offensive coordinator another versatile, athletic quarterback to design an offense around."
This Chicago Bears idea isn't crazy.
No team has ever traded down twice inside the top five picks before. That said, the circumstances are unique in this case. The Texans and Colts are division rivals and working against each other to land their QB of choice. Houston can easily decide not to chance anything by jumping up one spot to secure their guy. They have more than enough draft ammunition to pull it off. Then the Colts are faced with a big dilemma. There is a real possibility someone could jump them at #4 to the #3 spot for another quarterback. So GM Chris Ballard works a deal with Chicago to grab #2.
The selling point for Houston and Indianapolis in these trades is that they wouldn't have to give up future 1st round picks. Such minor jumps would likely secure only 2nd/3rd/4th round selections. That would serve the Chicago Bears fine. Having extra 1sts is nice, but adding multiple Day 2 picks can often be crucial to a team building through the draft, as Poles wants to do. It creates tons of flexibility. While the logistics of these trades are complex, they aren't impossible.
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