Proposed Bears Trade Would Have Flipped 3 Picks for $22.7 Million WR

Getty Bears general manager Ryan Poles almost pulled the trigger on a costly draft-day trade.

The Chicago Bears saw the first round of the 2024 NFL draft fall perfectly for them, adding new franchise quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall selection and landing a top-tier receiver, Rome Odunze, to go with him eight picks later at No. 9 overall. But before things worked out, the Bears and the New York Giants had talks of a proposed trade that would have seen Chicago move farther up.

On July 23’s episode of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,’ the network’s behind-the-scenes look at the Giants’ draft day unveiled a few previously unknown details about the Bears’ interest in potentially trying to trade up from No. 9.

While Poles admitted after the first round on April 25 that assistant general manager Ian Cunningham had to “hold him back” from trying to trade up higher for Odunze, the latest episode of the HBO show revealed the Bears and Giants had the framework of a potential trade ironed out that would have allowed Chicago to move up to sixth overall.

“If those guys go No. 4 and 5 [Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers], Rome [Odunze] is there. We like Rome,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said in the episode.

“We’re all fans of Rome. Chicago has been in contact with me. They’re at nine and looking to come up to six. They have a third- and a fourth-round pick and then we would give them back a fifth. If Chicago calls me and tells me they’re coming up for a tackle, let’s say it’s Joe Alt, we move back to nine, they go tackle.”

Bears Trade With Giants Would Have Changed Draft

Ultimately, the Bears did not pull the trigger on the trade with the Giants. Perhaps it was the fact that New York had an opportunity to choose between Nabers and Odunze at No. 6 that stopped them from moving back in the order. Cunningham’s words of wisdom also seem to have had an impact on Poles and led to the Bears staying patient.

Based on what we know now, though, the Bears would have made a major error if they had given up additional draft picks to move up three spots for Odunze.

The Bears only had four picks coming into the 2024 NFL draft, including the top pick that they used to select Williams. They gave up their second-rounder for Montez Sweat at the 2023 in-season trade deadline and then swapped a fourth-rounder for Keenan Allen and a fifth for Ryan Bates during the 2024 offseason to bolster their roster.

Without their third- or fourth-round picks, the Bears would not have gotten offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie or punter Tory Taylor. The proposed trade would have still kicked them back an additional fifth-rounder, so they might have still gotten pass rusher Austin Booker in the fifth round (and without giving up a 2025 fourth to do it), but it would have significantly altered their plan of attack and limited their total return.

Instead, the Bears got all of their non-first-round selections and still landed Odunze at ninth overall without doing business with the Giants. Talk about a lucky break.

Could Bears Make Another Trade Before 2024 Season?

The Bears have done a fine job of crafting their 2024 roster and have begun training camp in a more competitive place than they have in the previous two seasons under head coach Matt Eberflus. That’s mostly a credit to Poles and the methodical job he and his staff have done rebuilding the team from the ground up since taking over in 2022.

Even still, it is worth wondering when Poles will decide to once again dip his toes into the trade market. He might even trade again before the start of the regular season.

The Bears do not have as many holes on their roster as they did in 2022 and 2023, but there are still needs that the team could address via trade. They are relying heavily on growth from Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens on the interior of their defensive line to help improve their pass rush as a whole. If neither looks the part by the end of camp, though, perhaps Poles will kick the tires on finding veteran help to buoy the middle.

Pass rusher is the other notable spot. Sweat became the star of the unit when the Bears acquired him in last October’s trade and Booker makes for a nice developmental piece, but they may feel they need more firepower even with DeMarcus Walker and Jake Martin providing depth. The free agent market has dwindled to essentially Carl Lawson and Yannick Ngakoue, but a trade opportunity could expand their options.

That said, Poles might prefer to put his current team to the test before making any bold trade moves again, especially if the youngsters show promise throughout training camp. Safe money is on him waiting things out until this year’s trade deadline rolls around.