Is smoke growing towards Chicago Bears drafting Jalen Carter?

The Chicago Bears were once looking into Jalen Carter at number one overall. Now, the team sits at nine, he may be there, and the consensus is that the team will pass on him. While that may be so, it is not because the Bears are not doing their homework.

Will Chicago Bears draft Jalen Carter?

The Chicago Bears brought Carter in for a pre-draft visit. This is not too shocking considering the team wants to get the most information they can out of Carter. However, the smoke grew when Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter that the Bears would be one of just a few pre-draft meetings he is accepting.

Rosenhaus believes Carter is the best player in the draft and will not fall past the Eagles at ten. So, the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, and Eagles seem to be the only four teams linked to Carter.

Of course, all four teams could pass on him, the freefall could begin. However, the confidence that Carter will go to one of these teams is unsually high.

To add to this, Mike Lombardi said on his podcast that he thinks the Chicago Bears are highly interested in Carter.

"To me, the only reason the Bears traded down, is because the off of the field, I think the Bears stay where they or do not go as far down as nine, because they probably feel like they can get Carter at 9"

- Mike Lombardi on the GM Shuffle

You can say what you want about Lombardi and his opinions, but he is connected to the NFL after being a former GM. His son is still coaching in the NFL, so when he hears rumors, they are coming from actual NFL people.

Lombardi is clear that Carter would have been the guy at one. So, they had eyes on him and probably would take him if they feel confident in him as a person. Lombardi mentions that the Bears would have stayed closer to one if they did not think Carter would fall. Is that why Rosenhaus is so confident that Carter will go top ten? Does he know that the Bears dropping to nine may have provided the floor?

For all we know, the Chicago Bears could have signed off on him as a person and found that he fits their culture. They are sitting on this and waiting for him to drop, and are ecstatic that the guy they debated at one will now probably be there for them. More than one source is now indicating that may be the case, so it has to be thought about.