A growing trend in the NFL is that teams are more willing to ship away two first-round picks for a game-changing talent. Making a trade of this nature is tempting, but Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles should not participate.
There are very few players in the NFL who are worth trading two first-round picks for. When fans evaluate the Bears' needs, one glaring need is finding a pass rusher to play opposite Montez Sweat. Doing so would propel the Bears into the Super Bowl contender conversation.
One pass rusher deemed worthy of two first-round picks was Maxx Crosby, before the Baltimore Ravens infamously turned down the trade. If the Las Vegas Raiders were to trade Crosby, their asking price of two first round picks and additional compensation has not changed,. The Bears were rumored to be in the mix for Crosby all offseason before trade talks started to die down.
Similarly, pass rusher Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns is another viable trading partner for the Bears, as reported by Sports Illustrated. Obviously, the asking price for Garrett would be high, considering he broke the single-season sack record with 23. Teams looking to welcome Garrett to their team would most likely give up two first-round picks, additional picks, and a few players to make up for the Browns losing Garrett.
Blockbuster trades of this nature are what teams do when they are in win-now mode. And granted, it makes sense on the surface. Bringing in a dynamic pass rusher like Crosby or Garrett would build hype, increase ticket prices, and strike fear into quarterbacks. However, when you research the history of blockbuster trades involving two first-round picks for a star defensive player, they almost never pan out.
Even though the Bears are in win-now mode for the first time in years, trading away two first-round picks should not be in their plans.
Bears should not just jump at trading first-round picks for edge rushers
The Green Bay Packers, the Bears' biggest rival, traded away two firsts for pass rusher Micah Parsons last season. He made an immediate impact on the Packers' defense, and it appeared they were Super Bowl-bound. The hype ended when they lost in the Wild Card round to the Bears in a nailbiter.
What makes this trade so bitter is that the Packers' season ended the exact same way as the previous season, with a Wild Card round exit in a close game. The only difference was that they had to give up two first-round picks to get there this time.
Another trade from last season was the Indianapolis Colts trading two first-round picks for New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner. At the time of the trade, the Colts were one of the hottest teams in the NFL with a 7-2 record. Filling the need of a shutdown corner was supposed to help the Colts go on a deep playoff run. They ended up missing the playoffs and entered this year's draft in earnest with no first-round pick.
And the Chicago Bears traded two first-round picks for pass rusher Khalil Mack at the beginning of the 2018 season. There's no doubt this trade worked out in the beginning. The Bears went 12-4, won the NFC North, and rookie head coach Matt Nagy won Coach of the Year. The season ended in heartbreak thanks to the Double Doink in the Wild Card. The Bears never eclipsed 10 wins or more during the remainder of the Khalil Mack era.
Read more: Bears fans should be happy this near-disaster blockbuster trade never happened
As history has shown, trading two first-round picks just isn't worth the risk. Poles shouldn't trade for Garrett or Crosby. Instead, the Bears should build their pass rush through the draft. Thankfully, this year's class is loaded with pass rushers for the Bears.