2017 NFL Draft: Why the Chicago Bears will trade down in the first round

While the Chicago Bears own the third pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, they are better off trading down.

We made it! The 2017 NFL Draft is here. This is the time of year when we have hopes that this new crop of football players can help our team win some games. In the case of the Chicago Bears, the hope is to raise the number of wins from the dismal three of last season.

With their 3-13 record, the Bears earned the third overall pick in the draft. Being that high, there are a few prospects who can make an impact. Players like Jonathan Allen, Jamal Adams, and Marshon Lattimore, among others, can step in and make an impact.

Even so, the Bears’ best bet is to trade out of their spot.

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The Bears are in a position where they need to fill several holes on the roster. While getting a special player like, say, Adams, is great, drafting multiple players who can help the team is even better.

The Bears could take advantage of a team that falls in love with a quarterback and swing a deal. One such team is in Cleveland. The Browns are said to be enamored with Mitchell Trubisky. Of course, they aren’t drafting him with the top pick. That is reserved for Myles Garrett.

The Browns also have the 12th pick. They can use that to move up if they feel another team also wants Trubisky. According to the draft trade chart that many teams use, They can swap their 12th pick for the Bears’ 3rd pick, and add their 33rd pick and 52nd pick (it sure is nice to have five of the top 65 picks in the draft!).

That leaves the Bears with the 12th pick, the 33rd pick, the 36th pick, and the 52nd pick. That’s a mid-first round pick (which alleviates the feeling of a reach for a quarterback), and THREE second-round picks. With those second-round picks, they can acquire multiple impact-type players.

Of course, general manager Ryan Pace showed in his previous drafts that he’ll pull the trigger on a deal. He can trade one (or more) of those second round picks and acquire even more picks.

This wheeling-and-dealing is what helped the New England Patriots build a dynasty. That team is filled with second, third, and fourth round picks making an impact.

Next: The reason the Bears will opt for defense in Round 1

As I mentioned, having a potential Hall of Fame player is nice, but if you get three or four Pro Bowl players in addition to other solid players, you become a contender. Remember, the Chicago Bears’ 1963 draft yielded Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, two of the all-time best players in their positions. How did that help the team? They finished with a 48-74 record in the nine seasons they played.

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