The Chicago Bears are still the subject of most NFL Draft conversations. Although Ryan Poles insists we must tune in on Thursday, April 25 to find out who the Bears take first overall, it's all but confirmed to be Caleb Williams. But the question remaining is what do the Bears do with the ninth pick?
Do the Bears trade down and acquire more draft capital as Poles has done in the past? Will Chicago use the ninth pick to select a wide receiver or a pass rusher? We don't know yet and the dominoes may fall in any direction depending on what actually transpires Thursday night.
The Crazy Bears Trade-Up Scenario
Local Chicago radio host, David Haugh, was on NBC Sports Chicago on Monday night with Dave Wannstedt, Josh Schrock, and Ruthie Polinsky. Coach Wannstedt is adamant the Chicago Bears need to select a defensive player with the ninth pick.
He alluded to choosing whichever of the best pass rushers, like Jared Verse, are still available. Schrock says the best-case scenario for the Bears is selecting wide receiver Rome Odunze if he's still on the board.
Then David Haugh gave his take and it's a doozy. He suggests the Bears stop settling for B+ players and give this NFL Draft everything they have. Haugh claims the Bears can move up in the draft to select Ohio State wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr.
This would require a massive amount of draft capital and Ryan Poles can be aggressive when he wants to. But giving up future first-round picks isn't something that Poles is keen on and he hasn't done that kind of aggressive move before.
The cost for the Chicago Bears to move from the ninth pick to the fourth pick in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals is astronomical. It could be worth it if the wide receiver position was thin in the 2024 draft class but it isn't. This class is deep and the Bears can find wide receiver talent in later rounds or from a trade-down later in the first round.
The trade-up scenario is filled with delusions of grandeur and there is no way Ryan Poles gambles a plethora of future first-round picks on an unproven wide receiver when there's so much talent to choose from.
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