NEWSLETTER
You can call it a slow news day.
Or you can call it the calm before the storm.
Ultimately, we can call it what it is: The time of year where wacky draft rumors enter our stratosphere.
And they don’t get much wackier than a Redditor sharing that they know who the Chicago Bears are taking with the No. 9 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft:
“Family friends is an area scout,” poster OPSurelyDelivers writes. “Told my dad today Bears are enamored with Bijan. He’s the pick. Ban me from this sub if I’m wrong.”
Hey! If we can’t trust OPSurelyDelivers to deliver tomorrow’s Bears pick, then who can we trust?
I kid, I kid.
And yet, I’m still writing. If you’re still reading, bless your heart. I love ya! So I’ll try to make it worth your while.
For the sake of this post, let’s say that all things are equal. Beginning with the idea that this poster is onto something. Because they very well could be onto something.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Bears are truly enamored with Texas running back Bijan Robinson. Keep in mind that Robinson is the best back in this class and has a case for being the player with the most talent in this draft. I’ve seen big boards rank Robinson as high as their top 3. And most draftniks have him as a top 10 prospect. Hence, it is easy to believe the idea of putting Robinson in the backfield next to quarterback Justin Fields would be alluring to the Bears. And I bet Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy would drool at the thought of the things he can draw on an offense featuring Fields, Robinson, Khalil Herbert, Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool on the field at the same time. So in that sense, I bet the Bears *ARE* enamored with Bijan. That idea isn’t far-fetched.
Perhaps neither is the idea of the Bears taking a running back in the first round with a top-10 pick. GM Ryan Poles has often talked about a desire to add playmakers. Poles (and Assistant GM Ian Cunningham) have also made it a point to say there are 6-8 blue-chip players on the Bears’ board. I don’t think it is a stretch to have Robinson in that mix. Position value be damned, a good player is a good player. Sure, offensive and defensive lines are bigger needs. But the Bears aren’t in a position to draft needs over the best player available. In fact, Cunningham told reporters on Tuesday that the Bears would draft the best player available and not draft for need. All of this to say that I’d put it as a nonzero chance Chicago chooses Robinson in Round 1.
The running back value conversation reminds me a bit of how baseball fans used to discuss closers. For me, the breakdown is like this: Can you get any ole pitcher to record a 30-save campaign over the course of a 162-game season? You sure can. But you should know that not all 30-save seasons are created equally. And just because you’re the closer in title, it doesn’t mean you’re totally trustworthy to get the most important outs in the highest leverage of situations. In football, can you get anyone to give you a 1,000-yard rushing season? You sure can. But just know that not all 1,00-yard rushing seasons are the same. And just like you can’t trust anyone to get the biggest outs in the ninth, you shouldn’t trust just anyone to get the toughest yards in the biggest moments.
Don’t get me wrong. I know that drafting a running back would be unpopular in some circles. But ask yourself this question: Do you want to win or do you want to be popular? Because I’d rather watch a Bears offense score a bunch of points with a playmaker like Robinson than do the conventional thing at the risk of looking uncool. I feel as if the running back value stuff has shifted too much. And if this draft “sucks” (as one GM put it), then the Bears should draft one of the rare high-value players available. If it is Robinson, then so be it.
