The Bears have been approached by several teams with interest in trading for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and the team is “leaning toward” moving the pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is likely to be the first pick off the board, and since Chicago already has a promising young player under center in Justin Fields, it makes sense to move the pick to a team desperate for a signal-caller.
Despite Chicago finishing with a 3–14 record, Fields had an impressive second-year campaign. He finished with 2,242 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions and shined in the run game. He rushed for 1,143 yards and eight scores, falling just short of the single-season rushing record by a quarterback set by Lamar Jackson in 2019 at 1,206 yards.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles was asked in January if Fields was “your guy” and if the team would take a signal-caller with the top pick.
“We’re gonna do the same thing as we’ve always done,” Poles said in January. “We’re gonna evaluate the draft class, and I would say this: I’d have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision.”
Young won both the Heisman and CFP national championship as a freshman in 2020 and might very well impress the Bears before April’s draft. But it appears he likely will land elsewhere.
