ESPN's bizarre trade idea for No. 1 pick proves how value Caleb Williams will be

Are you ready for the single-most "We Need To Move The Draft Up" piece of content you'll see all year? Because, reader, it's here. And it's beautiful.

This week, ESPN released a "full" "mock draft" titled "2024 NFL mock draft with all trades: Deals for 32 first-round picks." It is exactly what you think it is. We're at the point in Mock Draft SZN where we don't even mock draft anymore, we just put random words together. (And if Draft content wasn't my sworn enemy, I'd admit it's kind of a fun idea.)

HOWEVER. The writer of the piece, Bill Barnwell, starts us off with a heater: the Bears trading their first overall pick to the Jaguars for Trevor Lawrence, a 2nd round pick, and a 5th round pick. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Here's some of what Barnwell says:

ESPN's bizarre trade idea for proves how value Caleb Williams will be

"Yes, I recognize this is an absurd trade. If we're trying to find reasonably fair value for both sides, though? This makes at least a little bit of sense, and it's a deal in which both sides could win.

"Williams' upside understandably appeals to Bears fans who have been talking themselves into him for months, but there are no guarantees he plays as well as Lawrence has. Williams is certainly much better-equipped to handle 2024 than Lawrence was as a rookie, but we won't know until we actually see Williams line up under center. Williams is 22 and has three extra years of cost control, which is why the Bears are landing extra draft capital along with Lawrence as part of this deal."

In Barnwell's defense, it 1. is an absurd idea and 2. does make sense, on paper at least. But it also speaks to just how valuable Caleb Williams is that not only are the Bears getting a bonafide franchise QB in the deal, but they're also getting another Top-100 pick as well as Pick 153. And yeah, that's what multiple extra years of rookie contract salary gets you, but still – it's a bit jarring to see, even in a hypothetical world, that *Trevor Lawrence alone* wouldn't be enough to trade the pick.

Almost makes you wonder if the Bears would consid–  nevermind.