The 2024 NFL Draft is nearly a week away and at this point, I'm sure everyone is tired of seeing all of the various mock drafts and predictions across the internet.
On Tuesday, we got our latest crack at the first round of the draft from a plugged-in league insider in Peter Schrager, who spent weeks working the phones talking to various executives and coaches around the league to determine how the draft could go in the first round.
In his first mock draft of the season, Schrager had the Chicago Bears making some interesting moves in the opening round after selecting quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick, which should be expected at this point in the process.
After the first overall pick, the Bears next selection is the ninth overall pick in the draft. With that pick, Schrager had the Bears trading back with the Indianapolis Colts, getting the 15th overall pick and only a future second round pick in return.
This return seems absolutely counterintuitive to what Bears' general manager Ryan Poles should be looking to get in exchange for his ninth overall pick. The Bears only have four picks total in this year's draft and a solid haul next season. To me, it would be a major surprise to see the Bears trade back and not even get any 2024 capital.
To make the trade back even more confusing for the Bears, Schrager had the Colts selecting LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the ninth overall pick. The Bears have done extensive work on the top of the wide receiver class and there's no way the team would pass up the opportunity to land Nabers on offense for just a future pick.
Beyond the trade back itself, who Schrager had the Bears even selecting at 15 was even more of a head scratcher. With that pick, Schrager had the Bears selecting Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham.
Here's what Schrager had to say about the selection after trading back with the Colts:
"After piling up more draft capital by trading back, the Bears still land a stud offensive tackle. Latham could be the second OT taken on draft night -- some teams like him that much. If the board falls this way, Chicago adds a big, pedigreed bookend who can join last year's first-round tackle, Darnell Wright, in protecting the new franchise quarterback, Caleb Williams." - Peter Schrager
It's not the prospect I'm concerned about, nor the idea of drafting a tackle with the second pick, it's the overall fit with the Bears. While the Bears did bring in Latham for a visit, and I do believe he will be among the first tackles off the board, I don’t think he in particular should be on the Bears' radar.
Du ing his time at Alabama, Latham predominantly started at right tackle, the same position the Bears addressed in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with Darnell Wright, who by the way hasn’t played left tackle since 2021 at Tennessee.
I'm not saying Wright or Latham couldn’t make the change to left tackle, I'm just saying it doesn’t make sense to force that kind of change to be made in the first round. On top of that, I believe left tackle Braxton Jones is serviceable enough at the position to feel confident about using the team's second first round pick at another position entirely.
Overall, it's Schrager's opinion in his mock draft but both moves would be extremely confusing to see if the Bears go in that direction.
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