Should the Bears pursue star wide receiver DK Metcalf this offseason?
New Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles indulge in this trade scenario and announce his arrival onto the scene of the NFL and immediately make a bold move and trade for Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf.
The Los Angeles Rams didn’t win the Super Bowl by developing a team through the NFL Draft, on the contrary they preferred to trade away draft picks for established NFL players. The Rams traded away two first round picks for cornerback Jalen Ramsey as well as two first round picks for 12-year veteran QB Matthew Stafford.
In turn the Rams won their first Super Bowl.
This is the blueprint Ryan Poles should immediately follow with the Chicago Bears. The Bears could trade for DK Metcalf and then use the cap space they opened up from the Khalil Mack trade to sign him to a long-term extension. Metcalf would immediately elevate the Bears into contention status in the NFC. Currently the NFC is wide open for the taking with aging QBs Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and the aforementioned Stafford representing the best QBs in the conference. The best young QBs are all well established in the AFC which means giving Justin Fields a weapon of Metcalf’s caliber would immediately give him a target with which to elevate the Bears’ offense.
Metcalf is one of the best deep threats in the league and with Justin Fields deep ball accuracy, would be a receiver that would open up everything underneath. The middle of the field would in turn be productive with third year players Darnell Mooney and TE Cole Kmet attacking the heart of zone defenses. Mooney racked up 1,055 yards and four TDs and Kmet was 12th among TEs with 612 yards in 2021.
Having the proverbial take the top off the defense receiver in Metcalf would be ideal.
The Seahawks could add draft picks since they don’t have a QB with which to compete with. Geno Smith is the starting QB in Seattle, which signals the immediate benefit more draft picks could be used to help Seattle. But in terms of helping Seattle, the benefit would be more towards the Bears. The bust rate for first round picks is at 50-percent meaning the Bears would add more value in DK Metcalf than they would likely lose.
The Bears would also stand to gain value back from having Fields. With Fields being the real deal, the Bears will have the opportunity to gain draft pick value back later in the draft and in the not too distant future as teams who need QBs can maneuver up with the Bears to gain position to draft a QB. The Bears would then stand to gain mid round draft capital to rebuild their offensive line and their defense. Having a franchise QB is invaluable in terms of adding additional draft picks because once you have that position locked down, you can then trade back to add more draft capital with which to build your team.
The most important aspect would be the long-term benefit of having a receiver and QB combination that would give the Bears long term stability to compete on an annual basis. The reality is giving Fields a big weapon in the immediate, would increase the chance the Bears can compete in the NFC North and then give them the chance to push deep into the playoffs in the NFC.
While trading for DK Metcalf seems like a long shot, the chance to jump to contender status now is better than trying to build up over the next year or two. The Bears have the firepower on offense in place with a strong running game, a TE that can serve as a security blanket and red-zone threat as well as a complementary receiver in Mooney. The defense as well is already in a position to compete with the added playmakers in the secondary. Now is the time to make a splash trade and immediately elevate the Bears from pretenders to contenders.
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