The NFL Draft is five days away, and I don’t expect much of a calm before the storm.
And I definitely don’t expect it to be all quiet on the Chicago front.
The Bears have a variety of needs that can be addressed in this draft. At the top of the list is a long-term quarterback solution. Not only have they been desperate to find one, they’ve been connected to several intriguing prospects. But to get the cream of the crop in this class, Chicago will need to trade up into the top-10.
And rival general managers feel like the Bears will be aggressive on that front.
Among the tidbits The MMQB’s Albert Breer unloads in his latest mailbag is what he is hearing about the Bears.
“[R]ival teams believe they are lurking as a potential trade-up team,” Breer writes of the Bears. “Two, as of a couple of days ago, they hadn’t really started burning the phone lines up on that. So they could be in play, but they haven’t been yet. And they’ve certainly done their homework on the quarterbacks.”
There’s plenty to churn through in Breer’s Bears nugget. For starters, a note that GM Ryan Pace and Head Coach Matt Nagy have had in-person, eyes-on experiences at Pro Days for Justin Fields, Mac Jones, and Trey Lance. Sure, those Pro Day visits could be for background reasons. But let’s not ignore what’s happening here. Despite Breer’s assessment, we’ve heard whispers about Chicago checking in on possibly moving up. Maybe they’re not burning up the phone lines, but there’s enough smoke out there to suggest they’ve put out feelers. Ultimately, if anyone from the Fields/Lance/Jones trio falls down the board, I imagine phone lines will be subsequently burning.
Having interest in drafting a top quarterback is one thing. And taking steps toward drafting one is another. But because the Bears are drafting 20th, there are real hurdles to clear in order to get to a place where they can make such a pick. And, in the end, it could all be a moot point if a team like Atlanta, Detroit, Carolina, or Denver follows by taking a quarterback after one goes with each of the first three picks. And if someone such as Washington or New England wants to move up, that could also throw a wrench in the Bears’ plans.
Nevertheless, that rival GMs see the Bears as a threat to trade up is worth noting and storing in our cap as we race to draft day.