NFL Insider reveals what the Bears could get if they traded the first overall pick
The 2024 NFL Draft is still months away but the smoke is beginning to flow in from the media surrounding the Chicago Bears and the first overall pick. NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero shared his insight on how he feels about the Bears' options with the first overall pick in the draft and revealed what […]
The 2024 NFL Draft is still months away but the smoke is beginning to flow in from the media surrounding the Chicago Bears and the first overall pick.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero shared his insight on how he feels about the Bears' options with the first overall pick in the draft and revealed what it could take for another team to move up for the top pick while appearing on the "Rich Eisen Show."
The 2024 NFL Draft is filled with incredible top-end talent at the quarterback position headlined by the expected first overall pick from USC, Caleb Williams. However, other top quarterback prospects such as UNC's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oregon's Bo Nix, and Washington's Michael Penix Jr. would entice teams to demand a king's ransom in order to move back in the first round.
"I would say this is one of those rare years where I don't know how much the teams drafted the top are going to want to move," Pelissero explained. "That's how good this quarterback class is regarded."
Despite having the top pick in the draft, the Bears could be the one team actually willing to move back considering they still have quarterback Justin Fields under contract. If the Bears decide to keep Fields as the starter and trade the pick, what would that return potentially look like?
"Think about this," Pelissero added. "Even if you're talking about the Commanders moving up one spot, with how good this class is and how highly people have Caleb Williams rated, that could be multiple first round picks to jump one spot. If you're talking about coming from the middle of the first with the Vikings, or the list of teams that need a quarterback right now, to get all the way up into the top one, two or three picks, it is going to be a massive offer."
Bears general manager Ryan Poles could be looking into a possibility of making one of the biggest trade deals in NFL history if he decides to trade away the first overall pick for the second year in a row.
The Bears already made one deal with the Commanders, whom Pelissero listed as a top potential suitor for the first overall pick, during the season. The Commanders have the capital to make a trade happen with the "extra two second round picks from trading those edge rushers [and] some players on the roster that could move as well."
During the segment, Pelissero also mentioned the Las Vegas Raiders as other team who could move up and trade up to select Williams. The Raiders currently hold the 13th overall pick and recently attempted to hire Williams' college QB coach and senior offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator until he withdrew his name from consideration.
Multiple teams will be ringing the phones in Chicago looking to see what the potential package could be to move up to the number one pick. However, the Bears could end up believing Williams alone is worth too much to pass up on as their next franchise quarterback and instead look to trade Fields to another team.
"The Bears are going to be sitting there in a position, where you brought in a new offense that certainly appears to be geared toward bringing in a Caleb Williams, you could get significant trade value I would think right now out of Justin Fields," Pelissero said. "If you're the Bears, you buy yourself time because now you're not suddenly going up into that stratosphere of paying your quarterback, maybe not top dollar but top-10 type of money, and bring in a Caleb Williams who can be the guy that galvanizes the entire program."
While all the talk and theories continue surrounding what the Bears could potentially do over the next few weeks, Pelissero dropped the most notable line toward the end of the segment.
"I would say their actions to this point indicate that they would like to draft a quarterback at number one," Pelissero said.
We'll see what the Bears do once the time comes to make a decision.
Predicting the Bears’ trade partner, compensation for Justin Fields
What could the trade potentially look like?
