The first-round of the 2018 NFL Draft appears to be shaping-up very well for Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears.
The 2018 NFL Draft is right around the corner and Ryan Pace the Chicago Bears currently hold the eighth-overall selection. In each of the past two seasons, Ryan Pace has decided to move up in the first-round (2016 for Leonard Floyd and 2017 for Mitchell Trubisky). It’s highly unlikely the Bears trade up this year, and if everything falls into place for them the way things seem to be going, that thought hopefully won’t even have to cross the front office’s mind.
As many as four quarterbacks could go in to the first five (or maybe even four) top picks. The Cleveland Browns (No. 1), New York Giants (No. 2), New York Jets (No. 3), and Denver Broncos (No. 5) all could draft a quarterback. If the Giants, Broncos, or Browns (who also pick at No. 4) pass on a quarterback, they could very well trade with another quarterback-needy team (i.e. Arizona or Buffalo).
If four quarterbacks go before the Bears pick at No. 8, it’s almost as if the Bears hold the No. 4 pick. None of these quarterbacks are sure-things, and if all players were treated on the same level, there might be seven or eight picks that go by before a quarterback even gets selected. However, teams are so desperate for quarterbacks that they’ll bypass over better positional players to get one, and that is music to the Bears’ ears this year.
Four quarterbacks, along with Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb, are likely to be gone by the time the Bears pick at No. 8. Quenton Nelson might be gone as well, but even if he is still available, the Bears should not pick a guard in the top 10. That means that players such as Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tremaine Edmunds, Denzel Ward, and Roquan Smith could still be on the board when the Bears pick.
If the Bears feel inclined, they could even trade-down and accumulate more picks. If for some reason only three quarterbacks go before the Bears pick and, let’s say, Baker Mayfield is still on the board at No. 8, the Bears could really get a king’s ransom to trade down with Arizona, Buffalo, or another quarterback-needy team.
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The draft is shaking out to work really well for the Bears. An early quarterback run means that one or two top-five talents are still there at #8. If the quarterback run doesn’t happen early, the Bears are then sitting in prime position to trade down. The Bears desperately need to have success in this year’s draft, and so far, it appears that things could be falling the Bears way.