Lovie Smith wants to hand the Chicago Bears the number 1 pick

After Week 17, the Chicago Bears now have prime draft position locked down for the 2023 NFL Draft. But, just how high will they be picking? That’s the question that won’t be answered for a few days.

Losing their ninth game in a row, the Bears now sit at 3-13, and still stay in the no. 2 draft spot behind the Houston Texans who are 2-13-1.

You do the math. If the Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 and improve to 3-13-1, and the Bears lose to the Minnesota Vikings who are still playing for playoff positioning, then Chicago will move into the number 1 overall pick.

Would the Texans really do that to themselves? Would they really win one, meaningless game in order to take themselves out of position to draft Alabama’s Bryce Young? If head coach Lovie Smith has anything to say about it, that’s exactly what the Texans are trying to do.

Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith could give the Chicago Bears the ultimate holiday gift in Week 18.

The Texans have a feasible win on the table, here. Let’s not pretend like it’s doing the near-impossible like they almost did a few weeks ago when they took the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime. This is the Colts, who are amidst a train wreck season of their own this year.

To be clear, the Texans have played more competitively over the past month and a half. Though they’re bottom of the barrel in terms of record, and coming off a blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston has played in some close games, so a phrase like this doesn’t come as a surprise from Smith.

Before getting beat by Jacksonville, the Texans beat the Tennessee Titans, lost to the Chiefs by 6 and were beating the Dallas Cowboys before finally relinquishing their lead, losing 27-23.

To say the Texans will lay down and die in Week 18 isn’t such a sure bet. However, passing up an opportunity to land a quarterback like Young would be hilarious. The Texans could end up with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick, which would be a nice consolation prize.

Then, there’s the Bears, who would own the first overall pick and it’s all but a guarantee for the Bears to trade that selection. The draft haul for the first overall pick would be one for the record books, certainly, and could alter the state of the franchise in a monumental way.