Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace has traded to move up in the first-round of the NFL Draft in each of the last two years, but the possibility of moving down could present itself in 2018.
NFL insider Benjamin Allbright tweets the Buffalo Bills have been making calls around the league in an attempt to move into the top-10, possibly with the intent of picking a quarterback.
Those calls could be limited, though, seeing that the Browns (who have two top-10 picks), Giants, Broncos, and Jets could be in the market to draft a quarterback of their own. That would leave the Colts, Buccaneers, Bears, 49ers, and Raiders as possible trading partners for the Bills, whose offense mustered just three points in their playoff loss against the Jaguars. Clearly, a better performance from the quarterback position could have given the Bills a better chance to knock off Jacksonville, which scored just 10 points in the win.
Moving down would be a win for the Bears on multiple levels, as they could add picks that could be used to infuse some much-needed young talent to their roster, and possibly select one of the draft’s top receiver prospects without fear of reaching with a top-10 pick. Sure, other teams could make a case for trading with the Bills, but if Buffalo is calling, it’s likely Chicago is on their list of possible partners.
Now, wouldn’t it be something if Mike Glennon ended up with the Bills as a free agent, only to be replaced by a first-round pick? History has a funny way of repeating itself and it’s not as far-fetched as you might initially believe. Peter Bukowski of FanRag Sports explores the market for Glennon as a backup, offering up some potential landing spots, but ultimately leaving the Bills as the best option for the former starter. Glennon isn’t going to be handed a starting job as he was in Chicago and it’s clear the next step in his career is to settle in as a QB2. The Bills are probably going to look to re-work their quarterbacks room and the Bears’ method could be a blueprint for Buffalo, should they so choose this direction.
Imagine a scenario where Glennon is in Buffalo and the Bears and Bills have completed a swap that includes one (if not both) of Buffalo’s two first-round picks, which are the 21st and 22nd overall. It could leave the Bears in a spot to draft a receiver. Perhaps even Calvin Ridley? Mark Talarnico of Da Bears Brothers breaks down what could be a complicated decision to draft the Alabama star receiver. Ridley is the draft’s most talented receiver, but that doesn’t always translate into immediate professional success. With the Bears’ top priority being to develop Mitch Trubisky, putting his growth in the hands of talented, but inexperienced pass catchers could be risky. Hence, it would make sense for the Bears to attack their positional need in free agency so they’re not forced into having Trubisky play out a less-than-desirable scenario.
Over at CBS Chicago, Greg Gabriel examines the receiver options who could jump onto the Bears’ radar once free agency starts. Gabriel doesn’t see Jarvis Landry as a player the Bears will pursue in free agency, citing his combine numbers (4.77 40-yard-dash, 28-inch vertical jump) as reasons he isn’t a fit. Instead, Gabriel views Allen Robinson (Jaguars), Albert Wilson (Chiefs), Marqise Lee (Jaguars), and Paul Richardson (Jaguars) as some of the top targets the Bears will chase in the open market. And while Gabriel believes the Bears’ receivers were better than what they showed in 2017 (essentially putting the blame on Dowell Loggains’ offense), he also sees the position as a place the team could stand to improve.
We’ve unearthed every angle regarding Alshon Jeffery’s departure and the Bears’ subsequent inability to replace him in the lineup. But it’s always worth remembering the Bears aren’t the only team making mistakes. For example, it’s pretty evident the Packers’ secondary missed Micah Hyde in 2017:
As far as some other potential pass-catchers are concerned, Bob LeGere breaks down the Bears’ tight end situation at Pro Football Weekly and notes how much the group will miss Zach Miller’s presence. LeGere writes Miller isn’t expected to return to the NFL after a gruesome leg injury ended his season. If the Bears choose to address replacing Miller’s two-way tight end abilities, LeGere lists Wisconsin standout Troy Fumagalli as a potential Day 3 option. For what it’s worth, Fumagalli has already expressed an interest for playing for the team he grew up rooting for if the opportunity presented itself.
The Minnesota Vikings are expected to add another quarterback-friendly mind to their coaching staff. NFL insider Adam Caplan tweets the Vikings will hire Todd Downing as a senior offensive assistant. Downing was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and has a history coaching quarterbacks for the Lions (2010-13), Bills (2014), and Raiders (2015-16). If you’ll recall, the Bears were interested in possibly hiring Downing as the team’s Quarterbacks Coach before maintaining status quo by retaining Dave Ragone.