The Chicago Bears will take USC blue-chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the NFL draft in April–or will they not?
There’s a growing perception among some media analysts and insiders that Williams to the Bears is not as much of a lock as others perceive it to be. Some believe Chicago might still trade away its top overall pick in exchange for a plethora of talent, similar to the deal they did with the Carolina Panthers last year.
Others believe the team might keep its pick and draft a quarterback other than Williams.
Are the Chicago Bears still undecided about Caleb Williams?
If Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ statements are to be believed (and are not merely part of a prolonged bluff front offices use prior to draft decisions), an internal decision on which quarterback the team will select has yet to be made.
Courtney Cronin, an ESPN Chicago Bears reporter, just confirmed that Chicago is still considering possibilities in a Twitter/X post.
She wrote:
The Bears will be on the clock one month from today (April 25th). Does Ryan Poles know when/hopes to make a decision on which quarterback to take first overall?
Poles say, “I don’t.” I do not right now. “Hopefully it will just hit me.” (Laughs)
Yeah, that’s a throwaway phrase with little meaning when taken out of context. However, given that the Washington Commanders, who have the second-highest draft pick right behind the Bears, are reportedly interested in acquiring DC-area native Williams, the question of whether a deal could be made to facilitate a draft spot swap between the Bears and the Commanders must be revisited.
A Washington-Chicago draft day trade?
In a recent story, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report amplified the buzz. Knox suggests a Washington-Chicago trade in which the teams switch draft positions and the Commanders include a second-round draft pick to complete the transaction.
According to Knox, there is no guarantee that Williams is Chicago’s favored target. On March 12, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Bears were still evaluating players.
If the Bears eventually decide on [Jayden] Daniels or [Drake] Maye as their first pick—it’s worth noting that Maye is the highest-rated quarterback on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department’s big board—they might try to wring crucial draft money from Washington in order to move back a position.
Will the Commanders play along? That is the unknown. If the Bears are dangling the No. 1 pick, new general manager Adam Peters must assume that the team sees at least one other quarterback as comparable to Williams. Chicago would have to keep its cards close enough that Washington is unclear of the Bears’ decision, and the Commanders would have to see Williams as the clear top quarterback.
If all of that happens, the Commanders will have to at least examine Chicago’s offer. Williams is an outstanding prospect, regardless of how the 2024 quarterbacks are ranked. He was born in Washington, D.C., and attended high school there as well.
Flipping a second-round pick for a player who might end up in Washington is a risk, but getting Williams would be the ideal way to kick off the new Commanders era.”
Since the draft order was created, members of the media have entertained the concept of a one-two exchange between Chicago and Washington on multiple occasions. All of the supposition is based on the assumption that the Chicago Bears do not want Caleb Williams, but the Commanders badly do.
If this is the case, a deal is not only rational, but also probable. With less than a month until the draft, both teams must decide whether what they desire is truly what they want.
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