NEWSLETTER
Buzz has been building around the Chicago Bears trading the first pick and I’m wearing an evil grin while thinking about it.
This has been a busy week of Bears rumors at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
It began with reports of “multiple teams” having already approached the Bears about dealing the pick. GM Ryan Poles offered up the possibility of trading the pick sooner than expected if the right deal came around, going as far as to hint it could come before the new league year begins on March 15. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport threw gas on the fire with his reporting that there was “significant, significant” interest from teams wanting to trade for the No. 1 pick.
And now, Rapoport hears teams are “scrambling” to get to the first pick.
Business is picking up:
“The interest in Ryan Poles’ No. 1 pick for the Chicago Bears is significant. And the quarterback performances that we saw yesterday only bolstered that. … There’s a lot of interest in some high, high profile quarterbacks — more so than we’ve seen in previous years. So you do have teams scrambling to get up to No. 1. And I would expect those to really, really heat up over the next couple of weeks here. Ryan Poles is going to have options. It seems that I would say more likely than not ends up dealing that No. 1 pick and has a chance to set the foundation for the Chicago Bears as they rebuild everything.”
Whew, child! What a banger of a report. It checks all the boxes for me.
Significant interest in the pick? Check. Double-check, really, if you want to tack on Rapoport noting that the interest in the top quarterbacks is higher than it had been in recent previous years. Name-dropping Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, and Anthony Richardson amplifies the noise. Hinting at trade discussions heating up is another check for me. Poles having options also counts as another check. That this isn’t limited to one or two teams puts Poles in the driver’s seat. No one team is going to low-ball him into taking a “meh” offer. The possibility of things picking up over “the next couple of weeks” really pushes my mind into overdrive. This is all happening so quickly for the Bears. And it is wonderful.
Not only are the Bears well-positioned to trade the pick, but they are also in a place to maximize their return. Having a bunch of teams with eyes for the top quarterbacks has made for quite a stir during Combine week. Building a market of potential suitors should lead to compelling offers to come Poles’ way. And if he can do it before the new league year begins in 10 days, it would help provide clarity for how to go about the rest of the offseason. At least, that feels like the insinuation when Rapoport says he expects things to heat up over the next few weeks. Poles has been directing a masterclass in leveraging the team’s most valuable asset. As a result, Poles could be well on his way to taking another major step in the building process.
Stay tuned. This thing feels like it could happen at any time in the next week or so if Poles plays his cards right and some team gets extra antsy when hearing about all this interest in trading up.
