Chicago Bears: No. 2 overall pick could be in play

The most important priority for the Chicago Bears this offseason is solving the quarterback position, but with the No. 20 overall pick and limited cap space that will be a tall order. Absent one of the top four quarterbacks inexplicably falling that far, general manager Ryan Pace will have to trade up.

Well, if he watches ESPN in the morning, he may have woken up to potentially some very good news. This morning, Adam Schefter made some comments that suggest the No. 2 overall pick is firmly in play. This was further implied with a tweet from NFL insider Benjamin Allbright.

First, we start with Schefter’s somewhat surprising comments. As we know, the New York Jets currently hold the No. 2 overall pick, a result of winning two of their last three games and yielding the top pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many wondered how they could let that happen. It appears the answer may be found in Schefter’s comments.

He indicated that he “would be surprised if Sam Darnold is not the quarterback on opening day.” This is interesting because most assumed the Jets were going to draft a quarterback and trade Darnold.

The Chicago Bears have a shot at the No. 2 overall pick

Allbright then tweeted out that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets traded out of the No. 2 pick, as he has been saying for some time now.

This should be music to Pace’s ears. Now fans will certainly have apprehension about Pace trading more future draft assets to move up to potentially get it wrong again. However, George McCaskey indicated on the radio yesterday that he will have the power to do so. Moreover, with the limited quarterbacks available via free agency or trade, the reality is trading up in the draft is his best move. Not only would it give him a shot at a franchise quarterback, but it would likely buy him more time than next season as he persuades McCaskey to give him a few years to develop the young quarterback.

Trading up to No. 2 would put Pace in a position to have his pick of Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, or Trey Lance, though likely the first two would be the only ones in serious contention.

Again, fans may be apprehensive about the idea of Pace rolling the dice again, but consider the amount of hope that selecting a guy like Fields or Wilson would bring to the fans. Heck, they may even be willing to forgive George McCaskey and Ted Phillips. Ok — maybe that’s going too far.