If there's one thing Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has proven from the beginning, it's that he never saw a blockbuster trade he didn't like.
Whether we're talking about trading the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, getting a deal done to acquire Joe Thuney, the Montez Sweat deal, or now the DJ Moore trade (and others), Poles is getting on the same level as Eagles GM Howie Roseman when it comes to wheeling and dealing.
And he may have more in store for us yet. The Bears have an impressive war chest of NFL Draft ammunition, and many feel like the DJ Moore trade was the tip of the iceberg for a big move to upgrade the pass rush. What could the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft look like with another huge projected trade in the works for the Bears?
Maxx Crosby trade highlights brand-new Bears 3-round mock draft
If the Bears want to be in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes, they're going to have to pay to play. The cost of acquiring a player like Crosby is, as Bears fans already know, going to be very expensive. The Bears paid the hefty price back in 2018 to acquire Khalil Mack in a trade with the Raiders, who were still in Oakland at the time.
I suppose history would be repeating itself, in a way.
To get Crosby off the Raiders' hands, it's going to cost the Bears the equivalent of two first-round picks, or some combination of picks and players that adds up to that value. Micah Parsons' situation was a little different, and he's a bit younger, but that trade could still be a baseline with two premium picks and a player.
The Raiders, in this scenario, get picks in the first two rounds of this upcoming draft while also getting a new linebacker to patrol the middle of their defense. The Bears get the superstar pass rusher they desperately need to cash in on this Super Bowl window.
Round 2 | Pick 60: Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati
If the Bears can come away with another big-time athlete at the linebacker position after Tremaine Edmunds's recent release, it would be a great use of their top pick in this draft class. The 2026 NFL Draft is exceptionally deep at the linebacker position, and Jake Golday is sort of an ideal potential replacement for Edmunds.
At 6-foot-4 (and change), 239 pounds, Golday's size profile compares favorably to Edmunds, and while that's not what you're necessarily looking for, it's an added bonus to an impressive body of work he put together at the college level. He's a phenomenal athlete with explosive traits, which translated into 163 total tackles and 13 tackles for loss over the past two seasons.
Round 3 | Pick 89: Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
It's probably a bit of wishful thinking to expect Chris Bell to still be on the board here, but we can dream when we're this far out from the NFL Draft. And frankly, more surprising things than this have happened in real life.
The reality is that Bell is recovering from an ACL injury sustained last November. He could slide in the draft based on a number of factors, including the fact that he might not be available at the start of the season.
Read more: Under-the-radar draft prospects the Bears could use to replace DJ Moore
The Bears can afford to take the risk on him, wherever it ends up being. He's outstanding after the catch and is built like a freight train at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.