One of the biggest stories entering the 2024 NFL Draft is what the Chicago Bears will do with the first overall pick, and how it determines the future of QB Justin Fields. After trading the first overall pick in 2023 to the Carolina Panthers, the Bears are going into the 2024 NFL Draft with the first overall pick again thanks to the Panthers having the worst record in football. However, with this first overall pick comes with the question of if they will stick with Fields as their QB going into a pivotal 2024 season. While Fields is supremely talented, having the first overall pick once again probably won’t happen anytime soon, so resetting your timeline with a new QB and recouping as many picks as possible by trading Fields could be a good outcome as well.
Rumors are beginning to swirl that Fields could end up staying in Chicago, with the Bears potentially trading out of that first overall pick again in order to build more around the young QB. On Monday, NBC sports’ Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America column that Chicago trading the first overall pick and keeping Fields is “the way the wind is blowing.”
While King says that he has no knowledge of that being a 100 percent truth, King is reading the tea leaves based on conversations he’s had. King mentions that Bears GM Ryan Poles can really build out the infrastructure of the Bears’ roster by trading back and collecting more blue-chip players, potentially trading down with Washington, then again with Atlanta. That would give Chicago multiple early picks in this year and next year’s draft that can boost the franchise immediately.
In addition, Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager outlines a scenario where Poles can trade back and orchestrate the NFL Draft by simply having a lot of assets on the roster.
