Bears Discussed Trade For No. 1 Pick With Three Teams At Combine, Seeking At Least Two Firsts

In an interview with Peter King, Bears GM Ryan Poles said he spoke with three teams at the NFL Scouting Combine about a potential trade for the No. 1 pick. 

Poles obviously didn’t want to out which teams those were specifically. There are a lot of potentially quarterback-needy teams picking in or near the top 10 this year that you could connect the dots to, including the Texans (No. 2 and No. 12), the Colts (No. 4), the Seahawks (No. 5), the Lions (No. 6), the Raiders (No. 7), the Falcons (No. 8), the Panthers (No. 9) and the Titans (No. 11). 

However, Poles said one of the inquiring teams was “further back than what I thought” in terms of the range of interest, which opens the door to a team like the Commanders (No. 16), Buccaneers (No. 19) or even the Vikings (No. 24). 

King notes the Bears don’t want to trade down far enough that they lose the ability to take what Poles calls a “blue player,” meaning one of their highest-graded prospects. They might have only six to eight of those on their board when it’s finalized. Poles didn’t rule out the idea of dropping further back. 

“But if I’m going to the next tier [on the Bears’ draft board], you’re gonna have to make up for that with more capital,” Poles told King. 

The expectation has been that the Bears will look to trade the No. 1 pick for a haul to better set them up to rebuild. Poles told King he knows he can get two first-round picks in 2024 and 2025 from a team looking to move up, but he’s not in a rush. 

“No one’s gonna rush me,” Poles said. “I know I can get a ’24 one and a ’25 one. You’re telling me for the next two years I’ll have two ones? That’s either four really good players, or if we’re cruising, we can still trade back.”

Poles added figuring out the timing of this deal is the biggest challenge right now. 

“Should we do this before free agency? Or should we wait?” he said. “I don’t know. That’s what I’ve communicated [to teams]. I could carry this all the way until we’re on the clock the night of the draft. But then there’s teams that want some certainty because, ‘If I need a quarterback bad, should I do that now when some of these guys, like Derek Carr, are out there?’ To me, they’ve got to go so much more above to do it now. I’m not greedy with it. But they’re gonna have to go above and beyond to close the door now.”

He added so far there have been plenty of teams willing to pay the exorbitant asking price. 

“The interesting part is having a conversation with one team, and then one hour later another team texts you wanting in on the trade and they’re not afraid of what the floor of what you’re asking for is.”

We’ll have more on the Bears’ plans for the No. 1 pick as the news is available.