Chicago Bears: Which top prospect falls to No. 8 after Colts-Jets draft trade?

Saquon Barkley

Even more so than Ezekiel Elliott, no one has more remarkably flipped discussions about the value of running backs in the NFL Draft than Barkley.

These days, you don’t even hear the words “running back” and “No. 1-overall pick” remotely mentioned near one another.

But Barkley just isn’t your typical running back.

He’s built like a mini-Bo Jackson at 5-foot-11, 233 pounds. And for a guy that stocky, he can fly (4.4-second 40 yard dash), jump (41-inch vertical) and has fantastic strength (29 bench press reps at 225 pounds).

While Barkley might not look like a 20+ carry-a-game guy to some, he certainly has the power to run between the tackles and the home-run speed to take it the distance when he gets out in the open. Plus, he can catch and block.

Basically, if you want a playmaker at running back, what’s not to like?

And that’s the problem for the Chicago Bears if they’re hoping Barkley could slip to them at No. 8. There are just too many teams who could use that type of talent ahead of them.

Assuming the Cleveland Browns get their quarterback No. 1 overall, he could likely go to them with the fourth pick, assuming the New York Giants and Jets take a quarterback themselves.

However, the addition of Carlos Hyde and the fact that they presumptively like Duke Johnson could dissuade them there. He’d still be a pretty good fit.

And if Barkley lasts past the top five, either the Colts or Bucs will probably scoop him. They badly need playmakers at the running back spot to help ease the burden on their quarterbacks.

Furthermore, even if he did make it to the Chicago Bears at No. 8, would they really take him? They already have Jordan Howard (though they may want to move on from him) and Tarik Cohen. Though Barkley’s a better all-around player than either, I’m just not convinced they’d pull the trigger on that.

More than likely, if Barkley slipped to No. 8, the Bears will trade that pick. And someone will do that deal.

He’s simply too explosive a talent to make it out of the top 10. That said, he has more value to the Bears as a trade piece to get them multiple picks in Rounds 1-3 than in their backfield, most likely. They have too many important spots to fill than to take a luxury in Barkley, as good as he is.