Bears Would Want ‘Historic’ Draft Haul For No. 1 Pick

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Bears would want a “historic haul of draft picks and overall compensation” to trade the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

One source tells Rapoport that the return for the top pick would have to be “crazy.”

Rapoport mentions that given the Bears’ asking price for the pick, it seems more likely than not that they will keep it and then draft a new quarterback.

USC’s Caleb Williams has been the consensus top player in this year’s class for some time now and could very well be the first player to hear his name called this April.

Chicago still plans to go through the scouting processes with other quarterbacks including Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels among others.

According to Rapoport, selecting a quarterback at No. 1 overall would lead to the Bears trading Justin Fields to the highest bidder. Rapoport says Fields should have an “active and fertile market.”

There are a number of teams who could be in the market for quarterback help this offseason including the Patriots, Commanders, Falcons, Steelers, Vikings, Broncos and Raiders. 

Fields is a promising player, but he’s drawing closer to needing an extension, which will almost certainly factor into what a team is willing to give up for him. Best-case scenario for Chicago would be a bidding war between two or three teams, but there will be several options in free agency, the trade market and the draft for teams to consider.

He signed a four-year rookie deal worth $18,871,956 with a signing bonus of $11,085,059. The Bears will have a fifth-year option to pick up on him in 2024. 

In 2023, Fields appeared in 13 games for the Bears and completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions to go along with 657 yards rushing and four touchdowns.