The Bears couldn’t get it done on Sunday versus the Buffalo Bills, losing 35-13. With two games left in the season, the Bears have the second-worst record in the league at 3-12. The worst team in the league, the Houston Texans, defeated the Titans Sunday to improve to 2-12-1 on the season. The Houston win puts the Chicago Bears in play for the number one overall pick, as they are only a game in front of the Texans. If the Bears lose both of their final two games of the season, all the Texans need to do is win one of their final two games.
The Bears travel to Detroit on Sunday to take on the Lions, and they finish at home on January 8th versus the Vikings. As for Houston, they host the Jaguars on Sunday, then travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts to end the year. The game versus the Jaguars will be tough, but the Colts are beatable.
So why is being one draft pick higher so important? Two words: trade value. If the Bears were to get the number one overall pick, they would jump the Texans, who will be looking to draft a quarterback come late April. Houston will not be the only team looking to draft a quarterback, which will likely make the number one pick a hot commodity.
In the past, we’ve seen teams give up two first-round draft picks and more to trade up and select a quarterback. Quarterback is the most important position in all of football. You need one to win. When general managers find a guy they think can help turn their franchise around, they will give up whatever it takes to get him.
Ryan Poles and the Bears are still rebuilding this roster. As we saw last year, Poles is a guy who loves to trade back and gain more picks. The potential value the Bears can get from another team would likely be a good amount. They would be able to address more positions with the picks they get from a potential trade. The second overall pick is still a solid pick. However, if a team gets desperate for a quarterback, they will pay a good price to try and leapfrog another quarterback-needy team like the Texans. The Bears also don’t have to trade the pick. They can stay at one and still get a guy like Will Anderson, or Jalen Carter.
It may be the understatement of the year that the Bears are having a bad season. However, Justin Fields looks amazing. He’s making insane plays and good throws with no one around him. They have the most cap space in the league with a projected $110 million to spend. If you add the number one overall pick to the equation, The Bears are in the best possible situation a rebuilding team can be in. It’s not like the entire roster is terrible. You still have pieces on the current team that you can build around. If the Bears can somehow get the number one overall pick, this offseason could be very interesting.
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