BearsMediaCo says “What if?” Our Chicago Bears Hold Keys to 2024 NFL Draft with Top 5 Picks 🤔

Here’s the Quick -n- Dirrty..

• The Bears have the #1 and #5 picks in the upcoming draft. Trading down is a possibility to get more picks. Some options at WR with those picks are Marvin Harrison Jr, Rome Odunze, and Malik Neighbors.
• At QB, Caleb Williams or Drake Maye are possibilities at #1. Michael Penix Jr or Jaden Daniels could be 2nd round options. The writer likes the current Bears QB Tyson Bajan but thinks competition could help.
• The writer asks fans who their preferred QB/WR combo from the college ranks would be for the Bears to draft. Popular LSU connections are Daniels to Neighbors or May to Harrison.
• Trading both 1st round picks is floated as an option. Getting multiple 1sts from the Cardinals or Patriots is intriguing to the writer. But he wouldn’t trade within the NFC North.
• The writer signs off by embracing debate from all fans, even division rivals! He keeps it real for his diehard Bears audience.

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Hey there, fellow Bears Fans!

The 2024 NFL Draft is fast approaching and my beloved Chicago Bears have a big opportunity in front of them, armed with two picks in the top five. As a diehard Bears backer known for always “keeping it real,” I have plenty of thoughts on the players Chicago could target and the interesting draft scenarios general manager Ryan Poles might explore.

Focusing first on offensive playmakers that could provide an instant spark, wide receivers like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Washington’s Rome Odunze make sense for the Bears’ pair of early first-rounders. The 6-foot-4 Harrison Jr. offers prototypical size and production with over 1,400 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns this past season. Even with some uncertainty at quarterback for the Buckeyes next year, his blend of body control and catch radius remains enticing.

Odunze brings a physical presence at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, which would pair nicely with the Bears’ current WR1 in Darnell Mooney. In 2022, Odunze recorded over 1,500 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns as an athletic big-bodied target for Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. Other talented pass-catchers like LSU playmaker Malik Nabers could also get drafted by Chicago to give young quarterback Justin Fields more firepower.

And while Fields showed growth in his second pro season, don’t rule out Poles and company selecting another first-round QB prospect like Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud if they slide a bit. Dynamic talents like Young and Stroud don’t come around often, so adding one alongside Fields could give the Bears flexibility to ultimately trade the ‘loser’ of any future position battle for assets to fill other holes on the roster.

Intriguing second-tier quarterbacks like Michael Penix Jr., Jaden Daniels, and local prospect Drake Maye might also be on Poles’ radar on Day 2 of the draft. Snagging Penix’s top target Rome Odunze in Round 1 then reunited him with his college field general could pay dividends as the two would already have built-in chemistry.

Now, circling back to Ryan Poles’ grand plan for the Bears’ rare draft capital, he holds enough bargaining chips to execute a franchise-altering trade down with a QB-needy team. Swapping the #1 or #5 pick for a 2024 first-rounder plus future Day 1 and Day 2 picks would allow Chicago to recoup resources after the Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith deals while still getting an elite player early.

The quarterback-starved Colts at #4, quarterback-doubting 49ers at #29, and aging Tom Brady’s Buccaneers at #19 are three clubs I could envision exploring massive trade packages to leap up for either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. Justin Fields flashing immense potential in the second half of 2022 helps gives Poles more flexibility to weight future draft capital if he doesn’t love one 2023 QB over the other.

Staying in the NFC, the floundering but highly-motivated L.A. Rams could also put together an aggressive offer to solve their pressing O-line concerns at picks #1 or #5. Leaping up from #31 for one of the top tackle prospects would start to remedy the issues that plagued the Rams after winning it all in 2021. But knowing the cutthroat NFC North, I doubt Poles would willingly enhance a key division rival’s Super Bowl odds.

Entertaining hypothetical Bears-centric blockbuster deals always lights a spark for us diehard fans, even if most never materialize. But just dreaming about Ryan Poles pulling off an unprecedented swap to land five premium picks from someone like the 49ers or Bucs is enough to keep us warm through frigid Chicago winters.

At the end of the day, the Bears have struggled with high first-round disappointments for decades, even after nailing picks like Brian Urlacher (2000) and Kyle Long (2013). I want Poles to carefully evaluate this unusually strong crop of quarterback, receiver, and linemen prospects across multiple lenses to avoid past mistakes.

Will the 2023 and 2024 classes offer better overall value than this year’s hyped group? What this current unproven Bears regime’s track record in talent evaluation thus far tell us? Would landing an elite left tackle or cornerstone pass rusher provide more long-term value than a boom-or-bust signal caller? How do contracts and salary slots factor into roster construction? These critical questions must shape the next few months for Poles and his staff because whatever direction Chicago goes, I’ll be here keeping it 100 and calling it how I see it!

The unpredictability of the draft always generates excitement and debate among us obsessive football diehards. And I speak for all of Bears Nation when I say we cannot wait to learn which special talents will be added to the den through all this accumulated 2024 draft capital! Feel free to hit me up with your spicy trade scenarios, prospect crushes, and general NFL draft opinions!

Bear Down Bears fans! and as always… PEACE!