I’ve been trying to make the most of my last weekend before NFL Draft Week begins for the Chicago Bears (and the other 31 teams in the league). Later today, I’ll take a break from listening to the new Taylor Swift album and attend the Cubs-Marlins series finale at Wrigley Field. If you see me, say hi. In between innings, we can discuss who the Bears will take with their other first-round pick.
WHOA! Jim Harbaugh got a tattoo to celebrate the University of Michigan football team’s national championship:
ESPN’s Jake Trotter has more on the latest example of Jim Harbaugh being a little off-center.
I led Bears Bullets with that anecdote because anything Chargers-related was going to nudge me toward re-sharing what I wrote earlier in the week name-checking the Bolts as a team that could be a possible trade-up partner for the Bears. Don’t get me wrong. I understand a quarterback-needy team is more likely to trade up into that No. 5 spot. However, if QBs go 1-2-3-4 out of the chute, then a team like the Chargers could attempt to swing a trade-back to recoup some draft capital. Although, I imagine a trade-up won’t come cheap. But the juice could be worth the squeeze to team a prospect like Marvin Harrison Jr. with Caleb Williams.
Hear me out: For a team that had to trade Keenan Allen to Chicago for a fourth-round pick, loading up with players on rookie-scale contracts would be a thrifty way to combat being up against the cap.
There is a line of thinking that hints at trading up for Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt as the move that makes the most sense for Chicago’s football team. Putting a rookie QB behind an offensive line with book-end offensive tackles with top-10 pick pedigree is alluring. Protecting the quarterback should be a priority. Bears GM Ryan Poles saw in Kansas City what a franchise QB can do with a stout o-line. He also experienced the flip side and witnessed what it looks like when that group isn’t up to snuff. Trading up for a first-round offensive lineman seems risky, but worth it if your pick hits.
This mock draft from Bears Wire’s NFL Wire team interests me because it presents a scenario that would leave me with mixed feelings as a Bears fan. Wide receivers going 4-5-6 after quarterbacks going 1-2-3 would be a mixed bag. As a Bears fan hoping for the best player available, I’m rooting for QBs to go 1-2-3-4. Because then, even if receivers go 5-6-7, that fourth quarterback pushes the best non-QB prospects down another slot. But because I think the receivers going 4-5-6 rank higher as prospects, I’d be bummed about not getting an opportunity to snag one at pick No. 9.
In this mock draft exercise, Chicago trades back with a QB-starved team (in this case, the Raiders) and make the most of having the ninth pick. As a result, the Bears end up taking UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu with the 13th pick. The Bears drafting a quarterback first overall who wears No. 13 and then picking 13th would be very Taylor-coded. All things considered, it would be a fitting twist for this month.
Things I wish I would’ve started earlier: Paying more attention to who was on still on the board after the Bears make their mock draft pick. For instance, these are the prospects who Chicago left on the board after choosing Latu: LT Olu Fashanu, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, OL Tallies Fuaga, TE Brock Bowers, OL JC Latham, and … I think you’re probably picking up what I’m putting down by this point. Comparison is the thief of joy. With that in mind, I hope the Bears make a pick that doesn’t make us second-guess things.
Also on the list of players the Bears didn’t draft in that mock is Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. That particular mock has Murphy going to the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 24 pick. And yet, there is growing buzz surrounding the idea of Murphy being a Bears target at No. 9:
On Thursday, we discussed Murphy as a possible fit for Chicago at the No. 9 pick. After focusing so much of the offseason on rebuilding the offense, getting Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus a shiny new toy for his defense isn’t out of the realm of possibility. I have yet to envision a scenario in which Murphy is the best player on the board at No. 9. But that doesn’t mean that scenario doesn’t exist on a timeline in a universe somewhere. Even still … I have my doubts that this is that universe.
Here is a question I don’t have an answer too (yet): What is the best use of the No. 9 pick? Re-read the question again. What is the best use of the pick? I’m not asking for a preference or player. Instead, I’m seeking the most valuable way to use that pick. Is it a trade? Is it a specific position over another because of its importance to winning. I wish the NFL Draft was as cut-and-dry as so many make it out to be.
Another question I don’t have an answer for at this time: How much better does an offensive tackle have to be than Braxton Jones to justify (1) trading up to take an offensive tackle, (2) taking an offensive tackle at No. 9, or (3) trading back and still taking an offensive tackle.
This also leads us to ask about what a good return would look like in a trade if Chicago was to send Braxton Jones away in a trade. Deciding on drafting an offensive tackle early could lead to a different type of draft weekend trade swap discussion. Perhaps that is a pot for another time.
Happy birthday to Khalil Herbert, who is a two-time recipient of the NFL’s Ground Player of the Week award:
BLEACHER NATION ON TWITTER: Cubs | Bears | Bulls | Blackhawks
Over at BN Blackhawks, Tab begins pegging some potential free agent targets who play forward.
It sounds like changes are finally coming to the Chicago Bulls. Eli has more from the Bulls top decision-maker, who had some worthwhile quotes. Here’s hoping AK’s actions speak as loudly as his words. (BN Bulls)
I enjoy watching Cody Bellinger mash taters for the Chicago Cubs:
NEWSLETTER
