Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Top 9 picks in 2023 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears moved down from number one to number nine, and now the real mock drafting can begin. Sure, the team could still move down from nine, but it was pretty obvious they were going to move down from one, so any mock draft before this initial trade-down was a waste.

Now that we know when they will be picking, it is worth wondering who will be on the board when they pick. So, instead of the Chicago Bears' seven-round mock draft, we are going to look into the top nine picks, and find out which players are likely to fall.

1. Carolina Panthers: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

There are reports that the Carolina Panthers do not actually have a top name on their board, and that they just wanted to move up to number one to make the decision now. However, the odds shifte greatly towards C.J. Stroud, and when you think of Frank Reich, and some of the best passes he has worked with, Stroud is the best fit.

Frank Reich is a fan of the bigger pocket passers. While you can debate all four quarterbacks in this draft, we can all agree that the best pocket passer is C.J. Stroud. Bryce Young may have a little more accuracy, but with the size in the pocket, Stroud is the clear safe pick.

If the team traded up for Anthony Richardson, they are risking losing way too much in their future first, because Richardson is not ready to start. Stroud can get on the field by week one and help them compete. You only make a move like that for Stroud, not someone who has big questions size-wise with Young, or accuracy-wise with Richardson.