The Chicago Bears once again find themselves with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and all eyes in the pro football world are on them as they weigh what to do with it: select a new franchise quarterback to replace Justin Fields or trade it away for multiple assets to build around him.
USC’s Caleb Williams is the consensus prize of this year’s draft, but Fields progressed noticeably last season, leaving Bears general manager Ryan Poles with a massive decision. Nevertheless, CBS Sports’s Boomer Esiason doesn’t think there’s anything hard about the impending decision.
“They’re taking this kid [Williams] right here, and if they don’t take this kid, then Ryan Poles should be fired,” Esiason said Tuesday on the Boomer and Gio show on WFAN-AM and CBS Sports Network.
Boomer Esiason is all-in on the Bears drafting Caleb Williams over keeping Justin Fields.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 27, 2024
"It's over. It's over. They're taking this kid right here and if they don't take this kid then Ryan Poles should be fired." pic.twitter.com/q5hXvyhaMA
Poles touched on the impending decision Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. In several instances, Poles made it clear that he intends to be completely transparent with Fields should the franchise elect to move on and draft Williams.
Bears’ GM Ryan Poles said today that, if the team decides to draft a QB with the No. 1 overall pick, he doesn’t think it would be right not to trade Justin Fields before free agency begins. pic.twitter.com/0TkSSpZzoW
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2024
"You wanna be absolutely transparent with these guys and let them know where they stand... [Justin Fields] means a lot to us. He means a lot to me."
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 27, 2024
- Bears GM Ryan Poles to @jjones9 pic.twitter.com/8oeRQt5HAN
Through his first three NFL seasons, Fields has thrown 40 touchdown passes to 30 interceptions and has a 10–28 record under center for the Bears. Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, has thrown for 8,170 yards with 72 touchdown passes to just 10 interceptions in the past two seasons alone.
The 2023 NFL draft begins April 25 in Detroit.
