Breaking down how many draft picks the Chicago Bears will have in 2023
By Peter Jurich
After securing the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears and general manager Ryan Poles have plenty of draft capital to work with in order to improve the roster over the offseason. But how many picks do the Chicago Bears have in this year’s draft?
The Chicago Bears have eight picks in 2023 but should end up with more
The Bears, who may very well end up amassing more draft picks this year and/or in 2024, currently have five picks in the first four rounds, and with the early results from Poles’ first draft in Chicago, where he didn’t even have a first-round selection, Bears’ fans should be excited about the opportunity in front of this organization.
A trade down from the number one spot isn’t just a smart move, it could be a franchise-altering move, and the Bears already seem to have suitors lining up outside the door to move up. But outside of having the first overall pick, the Bears have made moves in the recent past to bolster their draft capital this season, mainly by trading away defensive veterans.
During the season, the Chicago Bears traded linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for their second and fifth-round picks, as well as defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles for their fourth-round selection this season.
While the Bears are locked in at the one spot in every round of the draft (outside of the picks they traded away), both the Ravens and the Eagles are in the playoffs, meaning that the exact slot for their respective picks is not yet set in stone, but nonetheless, we can see the general range these picks will be in:
"Round 1: Number 1Round 2: Number 50 – 63 (via Baltimore Ravens)Round 3: Number 65Round 4: 103Round 4: Number 121 – 134 (via Philadelphia Eagles)Round 5: Number 136Round 5: Number 154 – 167 (via Baltimore Ravens)Round 7: Number 220"
The Bears are without their original second and sixth-round picks due to trades for receivers Chase Claypool and N’Keal Harry respectively, but regardless, Chicago will have (at a minimum) eight selections in this year’s draft.
Additionally, the Bears should be in line for compensatory picks this year, as the team lost over 30 free agents a season ago, and only signed 19 players in their place. Another compensatory pick could be awarded if assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is hired as a general manager for another NFL team. More details on how compensatory picks are distributed can be found here.