Getty Will the Bears trade into the first round this year to nab a weapon for QB Justin Fields?
The 2022 NFL draft is less than a month away, so naturally, draft day trade proposals are becoming all the rage.
The latest one involving the Chicago Bears has them swapping first-round selections with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In his April 4 column for Bleacher Report, Jake Rill put forth a few hypothetical scenarios in which the Bears could make a “splash” in the upcoming draft. In one eyebrow-raising trade proposal, Rill has the Eagles receiving one of the Bears’ two second round selections (No. 48 overall) along with Chicago’s 2023 first-round pick in exchange for Philadelphia’s No. 19 overall pick in Round 1 of the upcoming draft.
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Bears Could Snag Quality WR1 at No. 19 Overall This Year
“Philadelphia owns three first-round selections, so maybe it would be interested in turning one of those picks into a selection a bit later in the draft and a first-rounder for next year,” Rill wrote, also noting swapping first-rounders with Philly could be good for the Bears, as well.
“Depending on how things unfold, Chicago could then come away with one of the top wide receivers in the class by moving up to No. 19,” Rill added. “Among the receivers who may be available in this range are Arkansas’ Treylon Burks, Alabama’s Jameson Williams and Penn State’s Jahan Dotson. But maybe somebody like Ohio State’s Chris Olave could fall this far, which would be intriguing for the Bears, who could pair Fields with a former Buckeyes teammate.”
It’s possible Olave could fall that far, but it’s not likely after his standout performance at the combine.
Ohio State WR Chris Olave with the 4.26 at the Combine.
“You can’t teach speed.”
What’s more likely is that the Bears trade down from the second round in order to acquire more picks — which is something GM Ryan Poles recently suggested the team might do — and Rill knows it.
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Rill Also Proposed a More Realistic Trade Scenario on Draft Day
“It may be unlikely that Chicago would sacrifice a 2023 first-round pick to move into the opening round this year considering it has so many roster holes to fill and could be looking to add draft capital instead. But if the Bears have an opportunity to bring in a top-tier receiver by finding a potential trade partner, it should be something they at least consider,” Rill added, before proposing a more realistic draft day scenario for Chicago.
He has the Bears sending the No. 39 overall pick and a 2023 sixth-rounder to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for the No. 49, No. 120 and No. 237 overall picks this year — which seems far realistic and up Poles’ alley.
The new Bears GM has yet to make a splash free agency signing, and he hasn’t added any major talent via trade, either. Instead, Poles is operating with the big picture in mind, not making any hasty decisions that could come back to bite the team in the long run. New head coach Matt Eberflus noted at the NFL owners meetings how crucial it is to have the future in mind when making trades or deals in the present.
“When I was younger, maybe I looked through a straw, but I think that now you have to look that way. You’ve always got to have a microscope and a telescope. You have to be able to look and see down the road, but you also have to come back to your business,” Eberflus said, per the team’s official website.
If the Bears do make a draft day trade, swapping first-rounders is highly unlikely. A more probable scenario would be for Chicago to send one if its second round selections to an interested party for an extra pick or two, as the team currently has just six selections.
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