The Chicago Bears can take anyone they want in the 2023 NFL draft. They have the No. 1 overall pick.
However, spending the top pick on a running back would have many questioning the football intelligence of general manager Ryan Poles. Not since Ki-Jana Carter in 1999 has a running back gone first overall, and the Cincinnati Bengals’ pick never crested 500 yards in any one of his eight seasons in the league.
According to the NFL Network’s LaDainian Tomlinson — notably a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back — the Bears may need to spend their first-round pick on Texas’ Bijan Robinson, but not at that price.
“I’m going to say Chicago again,” Tomlinson said. “I believe Chicago should trade out of that first pick. They need a plethora of positions to fill there in Chicago to put around Justin Fields. You put this kid in your backfield, your offense instantly gets a lot better, and he’s going to make Justin Fields better. I think Bijan Robinson to Chicago — obviously you’re going to get him around the 10th pick, I’m thinking. Certainly the top-10.”
Is @Bijan5Robinson destined for Chicago? (Via @NFLTotalAccess) pic.twitter.com/OYBJDKj7fP
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 5, 2023
Among the top-10 teams, the only club that seems likely to take Robinson would be the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 10. The other teams in the top-10 are angling for a quarterback or have other pressing needs.
Chicago could work with the other quarterback-needy teams who want to hop the Houston Texans at No. 2 overall, but it still calls into question overpaying for a running back. Is the Indianapolis Colts’ No. 4 overall too much to pay? What about the Las Vegas Raiders’ No. 7 overall? No. 9 overall would be perfect, but the Carolina Panthers may not be willing to give up that much draft capital to go make the first pick.
How the Texans could ensure they get back to picking first overall in the draft and have their ideal quarterback is by sending Nos. 2 and 12 overall to Chicago. Then, Chicago can make a reasonable deal with the Panthers at No. 9 or even the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 with Houston’s No. 12 overall pick.
If the Bears are approaching the draft with the strategy to surround Fields with an assortment of weapons, then it makes more sense for Chicago to get out of No. 1 overall and acquire picks.
