Everybody knows the Chicago Bears are taking a quarterback with the 1st overall pick. Caleb Williams is 90% certain to be that quarterback. Fans have reached the acceptance stage on that. Debates have now shifted to the 9th overall pick, which the Bears also hold. Many camps have formed over what GM Ryan Poles should do with it. Some believe the best thing is to give Williams as much help as possible, either with a new left tackle or another weapon at wide receiver. Others feel the team has a glaring hole at edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat. They have to plug it with somebody.
Arguments of this nature remain ongoing. The wide receivers are too talented to pass on. Left tackles are more important. You can’t play good defense in today’s NFL without two good pass rushers. Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus, and the decision-makers at Halas Hall are having these same discussions. However, there is one added layer many people have chosen to ignore.
What does next year look like?
Often what spurs a team to target specific positions in a current draft is dictated by what they see coming down the pike. If they think a crop of players at, say, defensive tackle is stronger the next year than this year, they may choose to target another position of need, knowing they’ll have a chance to get a good DT the next season. Poles admitted this is part of why he chose to trade down from #1 overall last year. He felt the QB crop in 2024 would be a strong one. Now it’s looking like four could go in the top four picks of the 1st round.
Based on what several draft outlets indicate from their 2025 rankings, they should stay focused on wide receivers. Initial rankings have six edge rushers placed in the top 32 prospects of next year’s draft class. There are only four wide receivers. Obviously, a lot can change in a year. Some receivers may emerge. Some edge rushers may fall off or choose to stay in school. Still, initial outlooks show the Bears stand a better chance of improving their pass rush next season over finding a legitimate playmaking wide receiver.
Perhaps Poles sees it differently. There could be a pass rusher he and Eberflus love in this class. They may desire to trade down from #9 and grab one. Still, everything points to the Chicago Bears being focused on making Williams’ transition to the NFL as smooth as possible. That is done by arming him to the teeth with weapons. A trio of D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze would be one of the best this organization has ever put together. This way, even if Allen left for free agency in 2025, the Bears would have the 1st rounder in place opposite Moore, allowing them to still target a pass rusher in next year’s draft.
