The 2021 NFL Draft starts in less than 90 minutes as round one will kick off the three-day event in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday night.
For the Chicago Bears, they enter another year of the Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy era as they opted to run it back despite an 8-8 season with a Wild Card loss in 2020. Chicago enters this draft with lot of needs including at quarterback, a position they have yet to crack.
In this draft, there are essentially five guaranteed first-round picks at the quarterback position and then a handful of guys after that with Day 2 grades on them. In order to land someone like Justin Fields, Trey Lance or Mac Jones, the Bears might need to trade up in the first round.
And a few different analysts are reporting that Chicago has made calls to move up:
From our NFL Draft Preview Show: Trade calls are being made, and the #Patriots, #Bears and #Saints are among those making them. QBs are always trade-up targets. This year, O-linemen could be, as well. pic.twitter.com/3gNwHsA11h
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2021
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports echoed those thoughts in the latest on Thursday, saying the Bears “badly” want to move up from No. 20:
I’ve been bracing for a Justin Fields fall in this year’s draft, but I’ve come to believe that he won’t get past pick No. 9 later tonight. If Fields is available after the Bengals pick at No. 5, I think the Bears or Patriots could move up to get him.
Sources have told me the Bears “badly” want to move up from pick No. 20, and the only reason you’d give away that much future draft capital is for a franchise quarterback. Now, a veteran-laden team like the Bears could use those picks down the road, and it could cause the Bears trouble in the coming years if the quarterback doesn’t pan out. But GM Ryan Pace needs to get a quarterback in the first two rounds, and it may be Fields up top or Kellen Mond later.
Now that’s few reports of the Bears trying to move up, which is interesting. The other thing to note is that Rapoport doesn’t only mention quarterbacks but offensive line as well.
Chicago has also done their homework on second and third round picks potentially at quarterback. This is shaping up to be an interesting draft….
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