Bears detail (sort of) trade-down approach in 2023 NFL Draft
Bears detail (sort of) trade-down approach in 2023 NFL Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears already made one seismic draft-altering move when general manager Ryan Poles traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a haul that included DJ Moore.
But that move down to No. 9 might not be Poles' only move in Round 1. The Bears remain open to moving further down the draft board Thursday night should the right deal present itself.
Should a trade possibility materialize, the Bears will have to decide: How far back is too far back, and what's the right deal to move off a player they love?
"That's kind of case-by-case," Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham said Tuesday when asked how the Bears are approaching trading down. "When you're looking at the board, you've gotta have a feel for what those team needs are. Our pro staff, led by Jeff King, Chris White, along with JJ, they've done a really good job of helping us understand some of those team needs and you kind of have to weigh where we have guys versus what other teams' needs are, and kind of weigh how far we would want to trade that."
With 48 hours to go until Round 1, the Bears' plan appears to be centered around taking one of the top four offensive tackles -- Paris Johnson Jr., Darnell Wright, Peter Skoronski, and Broderick Jones -- at No. 9.
But several scenarios can alter the best-laid plans.
Jalen Carter's murky draft future could force Poles to make a hard decision. But it's the uncertainty surrounding the top quarterbacks not named Bryce Young that could net the Bears an offer they can't refuse.
Ohio State's C.J. Stroud's draft stock has slipped in recent weeks, and it's unclear which team in the top seven, if any, will draft Florida's Anthony Richardson. Kentucky's Will Levis' draft projection has been all over the map throughout the process.
There's no telling who will go where after the Panthers take Young, and even that isn't certain.
Should any of the four quarterbacks fall to the Bears at No. 9, their phone almost certainly will ring as teams look to vault up to swipe a future franchise signal-caller. But trading down, even in a scenario that could net the Bears another draft haul, isn't an easy calculus.
"I think that is important cause you really don't know who is going to be there," Cunningham said when asked how the quarterback dominoes could impact a trade decision. "At least we don't right now, and then you don't know which teams are going to want to trade up and who wants to trade up. So we kind of have to weigh that versus where we are sitting there at nine if there is a player on the board that we really feel comfortable taking."
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The Bears will have plenty of opportunities to move around the draft board during the three-day bonanza.
With a large gap between their first-round pick (No.9) and their first second-round pick (No. 53), the Bears could look for a way to move up into the 40s to secure a player they love. But the Bears won't make that decision Thursday.
"That's something we'll revisit after Day 1 and see where the dust settles," Cunningham said about trading up on Day 2. "We'll meet after the draft that night, and then we'll come back in on Friday and meet again and see where the board is and we'll make those decisions then."
Those franchise-shaping decisions start at No. 9, where the Bears have six to eight players atop their board and will have to weigh need vs. best player.
"I think that’s what we always do is try to take that best player available approach," Cunningham said. "I think the whole needs thing kind of — it’s funny, Ryan [Poles] and I were having this conversation earlier, those needs kind of get ironed out with the whole process, but ultimately it’s the best player available."
No matter how the first eight picks shake out, Poles, Cunningham, and the Bears should have plenty of options at No. 9. They just have to make sure their months-long evaluation process yields the correct answer.
