Bears News: First overall pick in 2023 NFL Draft belongs to Chicago

It actually happened. The Chicago Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings which was amazing for their draft stock. With Nathan Peterman in at quarterback, it could have been worse but they did find a way to lose to the NFC North Champions at Soldier Field.

Luckily for the Bears, they got a little bit of help. The Houston Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts in week 18 which pushes their record to 3-13-1 which isn’t as bad as the Bears’ record of 3-14. Now, the Chicago Bears have the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Chicago is now on the clock. The season got off to a good start when they beat one of the best teams in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, but have only won twice since. Ryan Poles clearly came into this season with a plan to be bad as he stripped the roster down to nothing.

Departures by guys like Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks came before the season began which signaled the fact that they were redoing it all this year. They traded stars like Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn in the middle of the year which helped the cause.

The Chicago Bears officially have the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

It wasn’t all bad for the Bears this year either. There were plenty of games where the Bears saw Justin Fields play well. Obviously, more than anything, that was the most important thing this year. They were bad enough to earn the first overall pick but the quarterback showed some development.

There are plenty of ways that the Chicago Bears can handle this pick and everybody is going to have a different opinion. All of that is going to be the topic of conversation all off-season long which should make it incredibly fun.

Are they going to trade it? Will they make a selection? Who would they take if they kept it? A lot is on the table for Ryan Poles and his staff as the draft season approaches.

The Bears didn’t have a bad record for a lack of effort. It is clear that all of these guys bought into what Matt Eberflus and his staff were preaching. They just didn’t have enough talent which is going to change over the years. After this off-season, the future might be bright.