Chicago Bears Rumors: Could Ryan Poles be looking to trade No. 1 overall pick again?

Thanks to the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears are closing in on landing the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft again.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles traded last year’s No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers for wide receiver D.J. Moore and a haul of draft picks, including Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick. It is trending toward being the top choice in the draft with the Panthers currently owning the NFL’s worst record.

Poles will have some amazing opportunities to leverage that pick if that happens.

Quarterback Justin Fields continues to be inconsistent, so Poles might decide to move on. He will not be lacking in finding a suitable replacement if he has the top pick in the NFL Draft.

He could take USC quarterback Caleb Williams who is considered a generational talent. He might also select North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye who could be like Justin Herbert.

According to one longtime Chicago Bears beat writer, Poles might trade the pick again.

Pro Football Weekly’s Hub Arkush shared on local sports talk station, 670 the Score, that he is hearing Poles will look to trade down to pick up more draft capital.

Hub said the New England Patriots might be motivated to swap picks so they can take a quarterback. The Patriots are projected to finish with the No. 2 overall pick. He added Poles could make a trade and still look to draft a quarterback later in the first round

"“[What] I’m hearing from a lot of my sources is Ryan [Poles] is going to trade that pick again this year. He is not going to trade out of the first round not to take the quarterback. I’m already hearing from multiple sources that the Patriots who look like they could be [having] No. 2 or 3 [pick in the draft] would definitely be a team that would trade for that pick. Of the teams in the top 10 or 12 who might want Williams or Maye, there are at least three [teams] who could trade for that pick. If you were to trade down from one to two or one to three or four, you could possibly get the quarterback you want and get another meaningful player.”"

Arkush added while a lot of people are all about Williams and Maye, there are going to be at least four or five more quarterbacks with first-round grades.

The Chicago Bears can still find a highly regarded quarterback outside of Williams and Maye.

There seems to be this dogma that there will not be another quarterback in this draft capable of starting in the NFL. That is false.

LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. all project to be possible first-round picks who have the potential to have successful NFL careers.

Daniels, Nix, and Penix Jr. will enter the NFL with a ton of reps based on the number of snaps they have taken in college. If there is one thing Brock Purdy along with the failures of Mitchell Trubisky and Trey Lance has shown, playing a ton in college helps with the transition to the NFL.

All four of those quarterbacks have the desired traits of a potential franchise quarterback.

Another factor to consider is how Fields finishes this season. He has five more games to prove he can still be the team’s franchise quarterback. If he does that, Poles can leverage both of the team’s first-round picks to address other club’s needs.

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is a player a lot of fans covet. Penn State left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu is an upgrade over Braxton Jones. Georgia tight end Brock Bowers could form a fearsome duo with Cole Kmet.

Trading down still puts the Chicago Bears in line to draft stud wide receivers like LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze. Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton could be an outstanding three-technique.

Needless to say, the Bears have fascinating options beyond drafting Williams or Maye if they end up with the top pick.