Chicago Bears come away with a haul in this updated 2023 NFL mock draft
The Chicago Bears make a second trade with the Patriots
Ryan Poles has six to eight blue-chip players on his board. My assumption is that he is not including the quarterbacks and honestly, I'm not sold that any of them are blue-chip players anyway. They have potential but that doesn't mean they are locks and with Justin Fields on the roster, I think a quarterback early can be scratched off the Chicago Bears draft board.
With two quarterbacks off the board and likely one or two more still to be selected in the top half of this draft, if I am Ryan Poles I'm considering a second trade here. It's not a lock to get a second trade, but moving down to four with the Colts is the best opportunity for that second trade. Moving down to seven with the Raiders or nine with the Panthers means those are likely the only trades that take place for the Bears on Draft Day. If the Colts do not come through for Poles, don't expect two trades but this is the "perfect" draft to go with the "perfect" free agency. Two trades are happening, haha.
In this trade, the key here was staying ahead of the Green Bay Packers and also gaining another future first-round pick. This would give Ryan Poles three first-rounders in 2024 and the ability to move up for Caleb Williams or Drake Maye should Justin Fields prove he cannot progress beyond his 2022 season. I have no doubt he will do that though and these three draft picks will be what Poles uses to land Marvin Harrison, Jr. for the Chicago Bears as I mentioned in the perfect free agency period.
Plus, as I mentioned, between these two trades, Poles recoups two earlier second-round picks than their current second-rounder (54) they received from Baltimore for Roquan Smith. Now, instead of no second-round picks, Poles has two - 35 and 46.
I know what you are thinking. There is no way that Poles moves down from one to 14. I would not be so sure of that. It all depends on who he has as his six to eight blue-chip players. There were other ways to stay in the top 10 should he want. I had a pending trade with the Falcons for 8, 44, 75, and a 2024 third-rounder. However, I felt that the 2024 first-round pick was more valuable than picking six picks sooner. The Patriots selected Jalen Carter fourth overall.