Chicago Bears make a blockbuster trade in this recent 2023 mock draft

The Chicago Bears send the second-overall pick to the Cincinnati Bengals

Houston took C.J. Stroud with the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. This leaves quarterback Bryce Young on the board. Will a team trade up for him? Not in this scenario. Instead, the Chicago Bears and Ryan Poles determine that trading even further down the draft board makes more sense and they prefer the full return given to them by the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals use that second-round pick to select Will Anderson. Anderson is projected to be the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft and a generational type of talent. Adding him to the Bengals roster would be huge for a defense that struggles to get to the quarterback. The Bengals are a Super Bowl competitor once again this season, but their defense is once again lacking. Cincinnati has 26 sacks on the year — ranked 29th in the NFL.

Will Anderson has been a force for Alabama. It would be hard not to add him to the Chicago Bears roster. He had seven sacks as a freshman, 17.5 sacks in 2021 as a sophomore, and 10 sacks this season. He models his game after Khalil Mack and draws comparisons to him from many analysts. Ryan Poles could potentially trade away Khalil Mack on the downside of his career and then replace him with a replica at the top of his career just one season later.

However, in this scenario by The Draft Network, Poles trades the second-overall pick for a veteran and multiple picks instead of selecting Will Anderson.