With Super Bowl 58 behind us, the Chicago Bears are on the clock. They hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and reports of what they could do are already emerging.
All signs have pointed toward the Bears drafting former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick and trading Justin Fields. However, fresh reports have claimed that the Bears could go into the 2024 season with both Williams and Fields on their roster.
Would the Chicago Bears Keep Justin Fields and Draft Caleb Williams?
Fields has been good enough since being drafted by the Bears, but the franchise finds themselves in a unique situation.
Sitting with the first overall pick in 2024 after trading the No. 1 pick in 2023 for a mega-haul and already having a competent QB on their roster, this really is a make-or-break decision for Chicago.
Williams is regarded as a great QB prospect, and many see drafting him and resetting the clock as the right move. Fans seem to agree, with Bears fans using the PFN Mock Draft Simulator to draft Williams more than any other player.
However, Chicago needs to explore all the possibilities right now, which ESPN Insider Adam Schefter reports could be drafting the USC QB and retaining Fields.
“The Bears have talked about the idea, as unlikely as it seems, of carrying both quarterbacks,” Schefter said. “Taking the guy at No. 1 and keeping Fields, it’s hard to imagine that. But that is a conversation that’s come up within the organization.”
This information leaving the Bears’ building screams leverage. That’s because the Schefter report comes days after NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that, “it would take a historic haul, something crazy, for the Bears to move off of the No. 1 overall selection.”
“That bit of knowledge contains wide-ranging ramifications,” Rapoport continued. “First of all, that is an indication, absent some sort of wild draft compensation, for someone trying to move up for Caleb Williams; that is a sign they will likely take a quarterback No. 1.”
Either way, this is Chicago trying to maximize their opportunity. We often see teams playing their hand and throwing smoke screens in the lead-up to the NFL Draft, but this is next-level playing your hand.
Firstly, the indication from Schefter that they’re willing to take Williams at No. 1 overall could be an attempt to increase the haul they could get by trading they pick — which could be unprecedented.
Secondly, it could also be to leverage more compensation from a potential Fields trade. It’s highly unlikely that the Bears would go into the 2024 season with both QBs on their roster, so if they’re looking to trade Fields, then Chicago will want to leverage their asset and get the maximum value they can.
MORE: Could the Pittsburgh Steelers Trade for Justin Fields?
Rapoport claims that there is an “active and fertile market” for the Bears’ current QB.
Thirdly, this conversation does come up from time to time, but it’s an impossible situation. In the 2023 NFL Draft, there were reports that the Bears could draft Bryce Young at No. 1 overall and keep Fields. Of course, this didn’t transpire as Chicago traded the pick to the Carolina Panthers.
The more apt recent comparison would be from the 2019 NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals sat with the No. 1 overall pick a year after drafting Josh Rosen with the 10th pick in 2018. All the pre-draft discussion linked Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray with the Cardinals despite the high capital they had just used.
Arizona ended up selecting Murray with the first overall pick with Rosen still on the roster. Then, on Day 2 of the draft, they traded him to the Miami Dolphins for second and fifth-round picks.
That comparison isn’t perfect, but Fields has shown he can be an NFL starting QB, while Rosen didn’t. However, it demonstrates that if a franchise is convinced of an upgrade, they aren’t afraid to take the plunge.
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