Getty Edge defender Jared Verse of the Florida State Seminoles.
The Chicago Bears have shown a propensity to trade back and accumulate picks under general manager Ryan Poles, and the 2024 NFL draft may not prove any different.
Of course, the Bears have so many assets along with the Justin Fields situation to consider that it is relatively impossible to predict exactly how each domino will ultimately fall. That said, if there is a run on the wide receiver position early in this year’s draft, Chicago may have significant incentive to trade down and address another position of need.
That is the scenario Adam Jahns of The Athletic detailed in his portion of the website’s beat writer mock draft published on Thursday, February 22. Jahns mocked Jared Verse of Florida State to Chicago at No. 12 after trading back three slots with the Denver Broncos, who are presumably interested in QB J.J. McCarthy of Michigan.
“The idea of pairing a proven, highly paid defensive end in [Montez] Sweat with a young, promising rookie is very appealing,” Jahns wrote. “In Verse, the Bears get a pass rusher who fits the long, fast and physical profile that coach Matt Eberflus wants for his defensive players. But Verse also plays with the relentless effort and energy that fits the Bears’ no-loafing identity. His rise from the University of Albany to Florida State will resonate with the Bears, too.”
Nick Kosmider, who covers the Broncos for The Athletic, predicted that the proposed trade would see the Bears swap the No. 9 pick for the Broncos’ No. 12 selection along with the No. 76 pick in the third round and a fourth-rounder in 2025. The 76th selection would afford the Bears back-to-back picks in the third round this year, as the team already holds the rights to No. 75.
Bears Could Just as Easily Look to Wide Receiver at No. 9 as Defensive End
GettyWashington wide receiver Rome Odunze.
The Bears will face an interesting decision at No. 9 regardless of how the chips fall in front of them. As Jahns noted above, the team would love to put another great edge rusher alongside Sweat, but that may not be the priority inside the top 10 depending on who is available.
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN mocked Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze to the Bears at No. 9 in his initial projections released on January 23. In Kiper’s hypothetical version of events, Odunze is the third wideout off the board behind Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State at No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals and Malik Nabers of LSU at No. 6 to the New York Giants.
The wide receiver position continues to grow more expensive across the NFL, and with the salary cap jumping $30 million in 2024, securing an elite-level pairing alongside DJ Moore on a rookie contract is about as financially appealing as saving the same kind of scratch at the premium position of pass rusher.
Bears Likely to Draft Caleb Williams With Top Pick, Trade Justin Fields
GettyUSC quarterback Caleb Williams.
There is also the issue of USC quarterback Caleb Williams to consider. Jahns has the Bears selecting Williams with the first overall pick. One way to significantly protect that massive investment is to add another talented pass-catcher alongside Moore and tight end Cole Kmet, who just signed a $50 million extension ahead of the 2023 campaign.
“It’s difficult to see the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles passing on a quarterback with the first pick two years in a row,” Jahns wrote. “As tempting as it would be to acquire a haul of draft picks, it’s important to highlight and evaluate why Williams would be worth that much draft capital in the first place. Poles will do that. He played an important role in the Chiefs’ draft evaluation of Patrick Mahomes as Kansas City’s college scouting director in 2017. In Williams, the Bears get a QB with rare gifts. They also get to reset their books and project more for the future with a rookie quarterback under contract.”
Drafting Williams means Fields is likely to be traded, and Chicago’s current starting quarterback carries at least a second-round value. That could mean the Bears will value a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 fourth-rounder less from the Broncos, especially if their wide receiver of choice remains available at No. 9.
However, if Poles sees value existing at the receiver and/or edge defender positions a bit later in the draft, he may trade out of the top 10 and use some combination of his accumulated haul for the No. 9 pick and Fields to move back into the second half of the first round and make a third selection there after Williams and Verse.
Needles to say, Bears’ possibilities abound, and fireworks are coming to Chicago.