With the start of the new league year rapidly approaching and the scouting combine in the rearview mirror, now is a good time to take a look at some Bears pre-draft rumors that are starting to go around.
Ryan Poles expects 3 first-round picks if he trades back far enough:
I believe this one. The first reason is he said it in an interview with NBC Sports’ Peter King. But it is “lying season”, so it’s fair to think he is just trying to drive up the value of the pick. I don’t think a team like Indianapolis would offer up that many first round picks to move up 3 spots. However, Carolina or Tennessee might be desperate enough to send a big pick package, and maybe even a player.
The Bears are very interested in OSU WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba:
I believe this as well. Why wouldn’t they be? The 2 other Wide Receivers expected to start for the Bears next year are Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, both of which are outside Wide Receivers. Smith-Njigba is primarily a slot Receiver. The Bears have already held a couple of meetings with Smith-Njigba, which is interesting because he enters the draft as a Junior and wasn’t at any of the All Star games like the Shrine Bowl or Senior Bowl, where a ton of meetings take place. Justin Fields has also stated publicly would also like to reunite with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was a freshman when Fields was in his final year at Ohio State. We’ve seen college teammates reunite in the league the past few years and it’s worked out. Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase, Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, as well as Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith.
The Bears want to trade down twice:
Why wouldn’t they want to trade back twice? The Bears are so far away from being competitive (at least pre free agency as I write this), so they should gain as many assets as possible. Getting future first round picks as well isn’t a bad idea, considering that Justin Fields simply hasn’t proven himself as a passer yet, it’s smart to have ammo to trade up with. The Eagles did the same thing where they got an extra first round pick in case Jalen Hurts didn’t work out as a Quarterback, now they don’t need one and have a premium asset in a top 10 pick.
Poles wants this done soon:
I’m not sure if Poles could care less about when this trade down gets done. A lot of people think he wants it done before free agency. I disagree. Poles will be patient with this. This is the most important trade in franchise history, so it’s important to maximize the value that he can get as opposed to rushing into a deal. He sees the long game that the Bears are a long way away from being good. Rumors say this gets done soon, I don’t have those expectations.
