The Bears haven’t ruled out taking a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, although it seems highly unlikely considering Justin Fields’ breakout year in 2022.
General manager Ryan Poles said the ideal scenario would be to trade out of the first overall pick, which would allow Chicago to reap the benefits of additional compensation.
Still, Poles is doing his due diligence when it comes to evaluating this quarterback class, which includes Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
Stroud met with the Bears this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he admitted it’s awkward to think about potentially being drafted by Chicago because of his former college teammate.
“I mean, no, I don’t want to go there,” Stroud said, via the Sun-Times. “That’s his team. I can do my thing. I can go build my legacy. Me and him are brothers for life.”
Fields emerged as one of the league’s most exciting players last season, including becoming just the third quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He broke records sometimes on an almost weekly basis — and he did it all without a strong supporting cast.
Stroud defended Fields amid an offseason of speculation about his future with the Bears.
“I was proud of him,” Stroud said. “There’s so many times when you get knocked down, but I feel like a true man’s character is when you get knocked down, you get back up. And he’s gotten up every time and he’s stepped up to the plate and he hasn’t blamed nobody, he hasn’t pointed no fingers or anything. That just shows you what type of man he is and what type of family he comes from.
“You get hit so many times in the face and you have to make plays using your feet. And he ain’t no damn running back. He’s a quarterback. He can sling that rock. I’m gonna stand up for my brother every time, and he’s gonna do great things in his career and I’m excited to play with him.”
