NEWSLETTER
Day 3 of the NFL Draft is underway and the Chicago Bears have just one pick.
On the one hand, that is a bummer. I like it when the Bears have multiple picks on Day 3. Not only does it make things interesting for me, as a writer, but it also puts my research skills to good use. But on the other hand, I feel as if having just one Day 3 pick makes things challenging for Bears General Manager Ryan Poles — who has made it a habit to trade back and create picks out of thin air. It is a fascinating time, to be sure.
We’re zipping through Day 3, so I won’t be too wordy here. During his Friday night press conference, Poles laid out what he was looking for during the final day of the 2024 NFL Draft:
“We’ll see how the board plays out. We got some gold level players that are still there,” Poles said via CHGO’s Nicholas Moreano. “So as it kind of drops down we’ll see if maybe we can get two of the, but again we will just play the numbers game and we don’t want to do anything crazy … We have a nice setup for next year too, so I don’t want to give away picks, but if it’s for a gold player, then you potentially could do that.”
Hmmm … that is interesting. What is a gold player? If it’s someone like Braxton Jones (a Day 3 pick who has been a starter since Day 1) then I would love for the Bears to find a gold player. Will there be one available at pick No. 122? Because that is where the Bears are currently scheduled to pick. Are there multiple gold players on Poles’ board? If so, is Chicago’s general manager better off trading off the pick, moving back, and accumulating future selections? Trading up isn’t off the radar. But as we breeze through the fourth round, I feel as if the Bears should stick and stay until further notice.
What should the Bears do on Day 3 of the NFL Draft?
I like that the Chicago Bears can go in a number of different directions on Day 3. This team could stay at pick No. 122 and take the best player on their board. If it happens to be a defensive lineman? Cool. But if it happens to be a player at a different position, then I could vibe with that, too. The Bears were never going to fill all their needs in this draft. Heck, there is never a year in which a team checks all those boxes. So let’s not get too down if Poles and friends leave Detroit with stuff on their to-do list.
Trading back is probably my preferred option at this point. The way I see it: Day 3 picks are like lottery tickets. Get a couple of dollar scratch-off tickets and ride the wave. Maybe you’ll get lucky. It’s been a while since I’ve bought a lotto ticket, so maybe that isn’t the best comp for me. Perhaps a better analogy is the Wheel of Fortune slot machine? If you’ve ever played, your goal is to get as many spins as possible and hope you get a bonus spin that could help land big money. In the end, you’ll feel great if you do. But if you don’t, then you at least had some fun along the way.
Also, I won’t rule out the possibility of Chicago using 2025 draft picks to get back into Day 3 in this draft. This team has an extra sixth from the Miami Dolphins and one from the Pittsburgh Steelers (which could turn into a fourth-rounder). Using one of those picks to get back into the 2024 draft for someone you like wouldn’t surprise me. And I don’t think that would be an awful use of those assets.
Speaking of trades, I wonder if the Bears would consider moving someone like Larry Borom. The Ryan Pace regime used a Day 3 pick on Borom, who gave the team some starts over the last three years. But between Ryan Poles’ free-agent signings and draft picks, Borom looks like the odd-man out. I can see a team wanting to boost its depth by adding someone like Borom. Although, that might be a summertime trade that comes when camp rolls around.
