Mock draft season is officially in full swing. By now, Bears fans have sifted through just about every possible option in how the team will handle the No. 1 overall pick.

Or so they thought…

The Athletic’s draft expert Dane Brugler released his mock draft 3.0 which features total chaos from Chicago. Brugler has the Bears trading back twice and drafting one of the top defensive prospects in the class.

Brugler predicts the Bears move back to No. 4 in a trade with the Colts, allowing Indianapolis to nab C.J. Stroud with the first pick in the draft.

Next, Brugler believes the Panthers will trade up for the fourth overall pick, placing the Bears at No. 9. With the ninth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Brugler mocks Iowa DL Lukas Van Ness to Chicago.

Van Ness doesn’t carry the same buzz that Will Anderson and Jalen Carter do, but the projected haul from the two trades is too good to pass up.

Brugler explains below:

For the Bears, this would be an outstanding scenario. By trading down twice, Chicago would own five picks in the top 64 this year (Nos. 9, 35, 53, 61 and 64) plus two additional first-rounders in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

The storylines for this pairing would be fun. Van Ness grew up a Bears fan, living just outside of Chicago (Barrington, Ill.), and his girlfriend is the younger sister of Bears tight end Cole Kmet. More importantly, the Iowa defensive lineman is a promising player with the traits to be a disruptive force from multiple alignments. 

General manager Ryan Poles believes in building for the long term, so adding an ascending talent like Van Ness and draft capital via multiple trade downs would fit the profile.

Click here to view the full first-round mock draft on The Athletic.