NFL insider throws out an interesting draft trade option for the Chicago Bears
We are one week away from the 2024 NFL Draft. It is obvious that the Chicago Bears are taking Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. The new focus needs to be on the ninth pick in the draft. Ryan Poles has a couple of options. He can take the player highest on his draft board at nine. He can trade back later into the first round and hope to obtain a second or third-round pick. What has been floated around more recently though is the idea that the Chicago Bears could look to trade up from nine.
The one reason I have seen analysts and fans hoping that the Bears move up from nine is to draft one of the top three wide receivers. Marvin Harrison, Jr. would look great in a Bears uniform catching footballs from Williams. He'd instantly push for receptions despite being the WR3 behind DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze are on a similar level despite them being two tiers lower than Harrison in my rankings. All three would be a great attempt to jumpstart the Bears wide receiver group beyond the 2024 season.
Daniel Jeremiah threw out an interesting trade idea for the Chicago Bears
One NFL insider floated out the idea that the Chicago Bears could look to move up for a different player. A player who doesn't play a skill position but instead plays in the trenches. The Bears already have a decent left tackle, but if Chicago could move up to six and take Joe Alt, the pairing of Alt and Darnell Wright could be a fantastic bookend duo that could protect Caleb Williams for years. Alt is an elite prospect and no offense to Braxton Jones, but you don't pass up on elite prospects at positions like left tackle or defensive end unless you already have elite talent at that position -- Jones isn't elite.
Could the Chicago Bears look to swap picks in 2025 with the New York Giants to move up from nine to six? Would that be all that is needed to make the trade work? I'll look into that possibility in a different article, but if the Giants are willing to move back and that's all the draft capital it would take to move up to select Alt, I am for it. I wrote about Alt back in February. It should be noted that Jeremiah had Rome Odunze mocked to the Bears in his recent mock draft, but there are still so many moving parts to what teams are doing at this point in the offseason despite being a week away.
I know Alt isn't the sexy pick that most fans want, but building through the trenches is the best way to succeed in the NFL. Wide receiver talent can be found elsewhere. That said, I trust Ryan Poles' process and support his decision.