Bears' strong contingent of personnel & coaches at Oregon's Pro Day could be spoiling first round plans
With the free agency frenzy continuing to go on around the league, it's also the start of Pro Day season this week, which is the next step toward the 2024 NFL Draft. The Chicago Bears have had a busy week, both in the building and on the road, between agreeing to terms with free agents […]
With the free agency frenzy continuing to go on around the league, it's also the start of Pro Day season this week, which is the next step toward the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Chicago Bears have had a busy week, both in the building and on the road, between agreeing to terms with free agents and sending out scouting parties to various Pro Days across the country.
The Bears were well represented in the state of Oregon on Tuesday with head coach Matt Eberflus leading a team to Oregon's Pro Day and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron leading a team to Oregon State's Pro Day. Both schools have top offensive line prospects but one visit in particular raises more eyebrows than the other.
Could the Bears be planning to trade back and target Jackson Powers-Johnson in the first round?
Oregon's Pro Day on Tuesday was headlined by two potential first round prospects in quarterback Bo Nix and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson. While Nix's production dominated the FBS rankings in 2023, Powers-Johnson has been the player receiving more first round consideration around the league.
Currently, Powers-Johnson is the consensus 22nd ranked prospect according to a collection of expert mock drafts averaged together by our very own Travis May. With the Bears in possession of the first and ninth overall picks in the first round and no picks in the second round, it looks like quite a reach to snag him in the Top-10. However, that's where things get interesting.
The Bears have only five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft after the trade for offensive lineman Ryan Bates becomes official today at the start of the new league year. The team's front office ideally is looking for more ways to acquire more draft capital by either trading quarterback Justin Fields or by trading one of their two first round picks ahead of April's draft. Given Fields' current market dwindling, the latter seems to be Bears' best opportunity to acquire more draft picks.
Trading back from the first overall pick seems like a long shot at this point of the offseason barring any Godfather-like deal being sent by another team. Therefore, the most likely alternative is to trade back from the ninth overall pick into the pick 14-20 range. If the Bears were to do that, Powers-Johnson would certainly be on their radar when they get back on the clock.
So far in free agency, the Bears' front office has failed to address their biggest need on the offensive line at center. While the addition of Bates from the Buffalo Bills offers a key depth piece, the team should still be looking for a more solid starter at the position. During the NFL Combine, the Bears met with Powers-Johnson and are clearly keeping tabs on him since the event ended.
At the combine, Powers-Johnson was also asked about the possibility of playing with USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who is widely expected to be the Bears' top choice with the first overall pick to become their next franchise quarterback.
"Caleb is an elite quarterback and an elite guy," Powers-Johnson said. "I met him in recruiting and got to play against him when he was at Oklahoma and USC. He's an elite competitor, elite quarterback, I'd be humble to play with him."
As for the Bears' contingent at the Oregon State Pro Day, NFL insider Albert Breer noted that the Beavers' offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga could also be in consideration for the Bears with the ninth overall pick.
All the reports of who is and who isn’t at the specific Pro Days across the country should be taken with a grain of salt as there’s plenty more behind the scenes that goes into the decision making for the draft. However, it seems the Bears are getting a solid look at the offensive line class after passing on the position so far in free agency.
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