With the Chicago Bears now sitting at two in the 2024 NFL Draft, Ryan Poles should look to maximize his draft capital by starting a bidding war for the rights to Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, or Michael Penix, Jr. For me, only Maye is worthy of a top-5 pick in this draft class, but we have seen guys like Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, etc. vaulted into the top of drafts simply because teams are desperate for a quarterback.
Looking at the top five picks, only Washington and New England (and possibly Chicago, but not in this scenario) will take a quarterback. I don't see Arizona drafting one as they are financially tied to Kyler Murray. The Chargers have a very good quarterback in Justin Herbert. I don't see Jim Harbaugh (assuming he lands the head coaching gig) moving up from five to change up his quarterback position. I expect them to invest elsewhere.
Outside of the top five, the Giants (6) just paid Daniel Jones, and the Jets (10) just signed Aaron Rodgers last offseason. I could see the Titans (7) potentially adding a QB despite taking Will Levis in the second round last year. Atlanta (8) definitely needs a quarterback. Minnesota (11) and Las Vegas (13) are the other teams picking in the top 15 I could see trying to move up.
Ryan Poles could land multiple first-round picks if they trade back with one of the teams outside of the top 5, but in this dream scenario, they negotiate the following trade with the Patriots.
Bears and Patriots Trade:
Patriots Receive:
2nd Overall Pick
122 Overall Pick (4th Round)
Bears Receive:
3rd Overall Pick
68th Overall Pick (3rd Round)
2025 1st Round Pick
Wow. This trade coupled with the Commanders trade would give the Chicago Bears three first-round picks in 2025. Plus, Chicago would only have moved down from the first-overall pick in the draft to three. You know what this means, right?