Is this the most likely path that Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears take on draft night?
The Chicago Bears have plenty of options in front of them thanks to holding the number one pick in the draft. They could choose to select any of three highly ranked quarterback prospects, they could select a “generational talent” at wide receiver, or they could hold the pick for a ransom and trade further down in the draft, like Ryan Poles chose to do last year with the Carolina Panthers.
We are exploring all those options in this series. Here are the links to the Drake Maye edition, the Jayden Daniels edition, and the Marvin Harrison edition. The next chapter in this series may be the one with the highest probability of happening. This is the path that several NFL media and teams feel that Poles will take: stay at one and draft Caleb Williams.
Here’s how the top ten could unfold in that situation.
1. Chicago Bears- Caleb Williams, USC Quarterback
Ryan Poles is blown away. That’s the phrase that Ryan Poles has decided to marry to his quarterback play. The idea of selecting a skilled player like Williams outweighs all the trade options that Poles has been weighing. He thinks this is the move to cement his roster and lead it to a championship level.
2. Washington Commanders- Drake Maye, North Carolina Quarterback
The NFL media has really been pushing the idea that Jayden Daniels could be taken with the second pick in the draft. In the end, new GM Adam Peters saw what Kyle Shanahan’s offense can do with an on-time player like Brock Purdy and wants the same type of player with a lot more bells and whistles.
3. New England Patriots- Jayden Daniels, LSU Quarterback
The Patriots franchise is in a major transition. With Bill Belichick no longer running football operations and Tom Brady long gone, new coach Jerod Mayo will lead this new era of Patriots football. They select the face of that new era and take the fast-rising athletic Daniels to be their franchise quarterback.
4. Arizona Cardinals- Marvin Harrison, Ohio State Wide Receiver
The Cardinals are thrilled that Daniels continued to rise up the board because that means Harrison remained on the board for them instead of on a flight to Boston. The Cardinals are sticking with Kyler Murray and they believe this level of a weapon will elevate Murray’s game.
5. Los Angeles Chargers- Malik Nabers, LSU Wide Receiver
The Chargers have had their fingers crossed for four months that the top four picks unfold this way so they can land their guy in Nabers. Nabers is a gifted player that will immediately benefit Justin Herbert and Herbert to Nabers will become one of the most prolific partnerships in the NFL.
6. New York Giants- Joe Alt, Notre Dame Tackle
The Giants seem to be the biggest wild card in the top ten right now. They could go quarterback, they could take an offensive weapon, but they also need to fortify their offensive line and they love Alt and his ability to plug and play right away.
7. Tennessee Titans– Olu Fashanu, Penn State Tackle
Alt landed here in our first two mocks and now Fashanu lands here for the second time. The Titans bolstering their offensive line seems like the wise thing for the franchise to do with this pick.
8. Atlanta Falcons- Dallas Turner, Alabama Edge
The Falcons are pretty excited here as there are plenty of ways they could go with this pick. In the end, they decided that getting the top defensive player off the board as far down as eight is too good to pass up. They didn’t get after the QB too well in 2023 and they hope Turner can give that unit an immediate boost.
9. Chicago Bears- Rome Odunze, Washington Wide Receiver
I promised I wouldn’t mock Odunze to the Bears with every one of these mocks and so far he’s only been mocked to Chicago in two out of the four. Odunze is a great fit for Shane Waldron’s offense and gives rookie Caleb Williams too excellent threats in Odunze and DJ Moore. The Bears take a huge step towards having a legitimate offense that teams are nervous to face.
10. New York Jets- JC Latham, Alabama Tackle
This is the first mock where the Jets have to settle for the third tackle off the board instead of the second. Latham is a huge man that has position flexibility and can play wherever the Jets need him most in 2024.
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