Bears
- ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Matt Miller look at what the Bears could potentially get if they traded the No. 1 overall pick. The most popular trade partner to project is the Colts at No. 4 overall, as it would allow Chicago to still get one of either Georgia DT Jalen Carter or Alabama DE Will Anderson, who at this point are seen as head and shoulders over the other prospects in this class.
- Indianapolis would obviously be coming up to take a quarterback, and could give up a 2023 second and fourth and a 2024 third to move up three slots.
- Miller and Cronin note the Bears could also swap with the Texans, who pick No. 2 overall, if Houston is trying to box out other teams for their preferred quarterback. They’d get less than they’d get from the Colts, with a third-round pick in 2023 coming back to Chicago instead of a second, but they’d also leave the door open to trading down again if the value presented itself.
- The most the Bears could get in a trade would likely be from the Panthers, who would have to surrender a future first as well as a collection of other picks to move all the way up from No. 9. Miller projects third and fourth-round picks this year and a first and third in 2024. However, the Bears would have to be comfortable with the idea of getting an impact player in the second or third tier of prospects, as Carter and Anderson aren’t getting out of the top four or five picks.
Lions
Lions OC Ben Johnson said the reason he chose to remain in Detroit over pursuing head coaching opportunities was because of the direction the team is heading. Johnson believes they’re building something special.
“It’s really simple for me,” Johnson said, via the team’s website. “It starts with this place and these people. Been here four years now and I believe in (principal owner) Sheila (Hamp) and what she’s doing. (Team president) Rod Wood. Dan (Campbell), Brad (Holmes). It starts at the top and trickles down. This is as encouraged [as I’ve been] in my four years with the direction of the Lions and where we’re headed.”
Johnson believes the team is on an upward trajectory and said after speaking with his family that he didn’t want to ruin a good thing.
“I was thinking at the time and soaking in the atmosphere, and it was like, ‘Holy cow, this is what a home playoff game is going to be like, and this is what I want to be a part of. This is what I want to feel. This is what I want to experience.’ It made me feel some type of way and I kept going back to that as part of the process and you know what, there are so many good things going on here. So many good people, coaches, players, I love the offensive staff and everyone we have on board there. I love the players. I love coming into work every day. Coach Campbell is incredible, and so end of the day talking with my family it just made sense. Don’t ruin a good thing.”
Johnson recalled the jump the team’s offense made between his first and second year in Detroit as a key factor that helped him make the decision to stay.
“I think the most encouraging thing is where we can get to because we’ll make a huge jump here between Year 1 and Year 2 in this offense as we clean up the details,” he said. “There will be less thinking and more reacting. The conversations we’re having now as a coaching staff are like calculus as compared to the pre-algebra we were doing a year ago this time.”
Vikings
Vikings DC Brian Flores was attending church when the pastor explained to the audience that you can have control or you can have growth, but you can’t have both, which led him to pull his name out of the Cardinals’ head coaching search and accept the job with Minnesota.
“That kind of hit me pretty good,” Flores said, via ESPN. “I just feel like this is a great opportunity for growing.”
Flores acknowledged that his lawsuit is still ongoing, but noticed diversity throughout the Vikings’ building.
“Obviously diversity is important to me as well,” he said. “I’m not going to run away from that. But when I walk in this building, you see diversity really across the board in every department. That’s exciting, too. The lawsuit is ongoing. But I’m where my feet are, and right now my feet are right here in [Minnesota].”
It appears as if Flores will be deploying a malleable front in Minnesota that’s based upon 3-4 tendencies.
“Who are we playing? It’s game-plan-specific. But it’s a 3-4.“
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