The Chicago Bears trade down in the first round again in this full 2023 mock draft

The simulator hated the next pick for the Chicago Bears

4th Round | 133rd Pick | Payne Durham, TE - Purdue

The Senior Bowl helped propel Payne Durham onto many draft boards. He had a great week of practice and performed well in the actual game. I'll admit, I was not as high on him before I saw him in this setting. That said, it is not uncommon for a college team to not take advantage of a player they have, but you might see it in a national game like the East West Shrine Bowl or Senior Bowl.

With the addition of Robert Tonyan, the Chicago Bears don't need to spend high draft capital on a tight end. That said, I think an early Day 3 pick is the sweet spot if Poles wants to add a developmental guy to pair with Tonyan and Cole Kmet. Don't forget, we don't know for sure Kmet will be re-signed for 2024.

Durham makes a great deal of sense to me. He will need time to develop and can do that here in Chicago. He has great size but isn't the most athletic. He showed he is more athletic than his film shows though with some of the catches he made in Mobile, Alabama. He is a solid blocking tight end and will do the dirty work that Luke Getsy likes to see for his running game. He can also be a red zone threat at 6'6" and 250+ pounds.