NFL general managers and head coaches are gathering in Orlando this week for the annual Owners' meetings with most of the attention being on the Chicago Bears and the quarterback position.
This week will mark the last time that league executives are gathered together before the 2024 NFL Draft at the end of April.
Ryan Poles has already met with reporters as he revealed when the team will be hosting quarterback Caleb Williams for a Top 30 visit along with shedding more insight into the Bears' decision to trade Justin Fields.
The main takeaway from Poles' comments was that the Bears indeed going to be selecting Williams with the first overall pick. That is also a conclusion that the NFL has made as well.
Newly hired head coach of the New England Patriots Jerod Mayo met with reporters on Monday and confirmed the league knows what the Bears are doing at the top of the draft.
Jerod Mayo says everyone knows what Chicago will do at No. 1, but not Washington
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) March 25, 2024
Teams across the NFL know that the Chicago Bears will be selecting Caleb Williams.
Yes, the Bears will go through the motions and attend the Pro Day workouts of all the top quarterback prospects--Michigan's JJ McCarthy, LSU's Jayden Daniels, and North Carolina's Drake Maye--but Williams is going to be the next starting quarterback of the Bears.
That does not mean there isn't intrigue from the Bears in terms of how the rest of the Top 10 of the draft will play out. It would seem that the Commanders will be selecting a quarterback with the second overall pick but neither Mayo's Patriots nor the Arizona Cardinals have ruled out the idea of trading back.
While Williams is going to be the Bears' first pick in the draft, the team also holds the ninth overall selection. What the Patriots and Cardinals do with the third and fourth overall selections respectively could play a factor in the Bears' decision at No. 9.