Getty Bears general manager Ryan Poles, left, and head coach Matt Eberflus.
The Chicago Bears could receive multiple blockbuster offers for 2024’s No. 1 overall pick if they decide to trade away the selection, perhaps even one that would land them another superstar player — for their defense — in return.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently raised an intriguing trade possibility for the Bears that would involve them sending their No. 1 overall selection to the Tennessee Titans. In exchange, he suggests the Bears could get the Titans’ seventh overall pick, a second-rounder in 2024 and 2025 and two-time All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
“The Bears wouldn’t have much use for Will Levis with [Justin] Fields in tow, so again, this would be a team dealing away its quarterback to go somewhere else,” he wrote. “Where their offer gets unique, though, is by including Jeffery Simmons, a superstar defensive tackle who would give Matt Eberflus the interior disruptor his defense desperately needs. Simmons would be worth one or two first-round picks on his own.”
Simmons would be a game-changer for the Bears defense. The 26-year-old has logged 21.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss over the past three seasons for the Titans and is an ideal fit for the three-technique defensive tackle role in Eberflus’ defensive scheme. The combination of Simmons and Sweat would also make for one of the more potent fronts in the NFL, especially if the Bears go on to add a high-selection rookie to the other edge.
The Bears would have to figure out the logistics of fitting Simmons’ massive contract — worth $94 million over the next four seasons — on their books. Fortunately, they have about $46.87 million in cap space for 2024 and could free up as much as $23 million more with veteran cuts if they need additional flexibility.
Would Titans Actually Trade Jeffery Simmons Away?
Chicago would have a tough time saying no if it received an offer from Tennessee on par with what Barnwell is proposing. Not only would the Bears add another superstar in the exchange, but they would also get back into the second round — at No. 38 overall — while still owning the seventh and ninth overall selections in the first round. Oh, and as a sweetener, they would own three second-round picks for the 2025 NFL draft, too.
The real question is: Would the Titans be willing to part ways with Jeffery Simmons?
Titans second-year general manager Ran Carthon made extending Simmons one of his top priorities when he took the job last January and delivered in about three months, making Simmons the third-highest-paid defensive tackle ($23.5 million) in the NFL. While teams do sometimes trade recently extended players — Carolina dealt DJ Moore to Chicago less than a year after signing him to an extension — it would be quite the backtrack for Carthon to turn around and trade off a central piece of their defense.
The Titans could still be a realistic suitor for the Bears’ No. 1 overall selection. They have Will Levis in place as a possible replacement for veteran Ryan Tannehill, but he is too far from a sure thing to rule them out of the rookie quarterback conversation. A haul of picks is probably the best the Bears could hope to get from them, though; unless the Titans decide they are no longer attached to wide receiver Treylon Burks.
Will Bears Consider Taking DT in 1st Round of 2024?
The Bears would be justified in taking a big swing at the defensive tackle position during the 2024 offseason. While they locked up Andrew Billings on a two-year extension in the middle of the 2023 season and have Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens looking to build off their rookie campaigns, they are still missing a dominant penetrator who can play the three-technique role for the interior of their defensive line.
If the Bears are unable to fit the right fit in free agency or on the trade market, though, could they potentially use one of their first-round picks on a defensive tackle instead?
Predicting what the Bears will do in the first round will be difficult until they decide what they want to do with the No. 1 overall selection, but they could realistically target one of the top two tackles — Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton or Texas’ Byron Murphy II — as early as the ninth pick if they feel strongly about one of their upsides. They could also put No. 9 overall toward another need and target either Newton or Murphy later in the order if they elect to move back from the top spot and into the early-to-mid teens.
The Bears might feel their needs at quarterback, wide receiver or edge rusher take priority over defensive tackle in the first round, but it is not totally out of the question to think they could use a first-rounder on a three-technique given how crucial the role is in Eberflus’ 4-3 defensive scheme.