Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles trades the number one overall pick and makes other picks to solidify not only this year’s roster but also next year’s draft.
Now that the Super Bowl is over, the Chicago Bears are on the clock. They own the number one overall pick in this year’s draft. With them feeling they have their franchise quarterback, general manager Ryan Poles will receive a ton of calls for that pick.
There aren’t too many people who think the Bears end up using that first pick. The overall theory is that he will trade down and receive some high-value picks in return.
Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles ready to wheel and deal in 2023 NFL Draft
In this mock draft, Poles again makes some trades. In our first mock, Poles acquired 13 draft picks. In this one, he has 11. We saw with what he’s done in his tenure so far that he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger on a trade.
It is important to keep in mind that Poles has a vision for the future. This is something previous Chicago Bears general managers failed to have. They were too worried about putting a band-aid on the roster. As long as they had a good season every few years they thought they’d have the fans happy. Sure, they’ve had players like Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and other stars.
With all those stars, however, the Bears have had only three playoff appearances and have just one playoff win.
A different approach is needed and Poles is trying to do exactly that. Poles will use his $100 million-plus salary cap space to complement the draft. We’ll see that with his first pick. He’ll acquire some picks in this draft but with a possible bidding war between teams in desperate need of quarterback help, he’ll pick up some draft picks for next year.
There is a debate about whether the Bears draft Will Anderson or Jalen Carter. Poles likey splits the difference. He’ll pick up a free agent at either EDGE or tackle. Then he’ll go with the position he didn’t sign. In this mock, he picks up a veteran defensive tackle. That means he’ll go for the EDGE rusher.
Let’s see what else Poles does in the latest Chicago Bears 2023 mock draft.
As I mentioned, in this mock Poles already picked up a defensive tackle. It is important that these two positions are filled. The EDGE is important so the defense puts pressure on the quarterback. However, they also need an effective tackle in the middle who can take up double teams and free up the edge.
Will Anderson provides the Chicago Bears defensive front with an elite pass rush. He’s been on a collision course with NFL stardom since his high school days. He was a top 50 player coming out of high school and now is a top-five talent going into the NFL.
At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds Anderson has the size you want. He also has a lot of physical talent. He has great strength, athleticism, and quickness. His hands are great and he uses them to knock offensive linemen off balance.
In addition to his physical talents, Anderson has a high motor. He goes at full speed on every snap and doesn’t take any off. He might not be the biggest player but has the most talent and is the hardest-working player on the field.
The Bears were horrible at getting to the quarterback. They ranked last in sacks (20) and quarterback knockdown percentage (4.2 percent) and 31st in quarterback pressure percentage (15.9 percent). Anderson will help improve those numbers.
Poles pulls off another deal to help the future of the Chicago Bears. The Las Vegas Raiders come calling and the Bears only have to move down three spots. In return, they receive the Raiders’ third-round pick in 2024.
With this pick, Poles solidifies the middle of the line. While Siaki Ika won’t be a starter (since the Bears already have a free agent there), he will add quality depth on the line.
In 2022 the Bears got bashed up the middle. They ranked 31st in rushing yards and last in rushing touchdowns given up. Most of that came right up the middle.
With Ika giving the starter some snaps off without a lot of dropoff, the defensive line stays fresh and healthy. Last season, the defense wore down a lot late in games.
At 6-foot-4, 358 pounds, Ika is a mountain of a man. He will definitely plug up the middle and command double teams. Despite having to get through a wall of people, Ika always has his head either at the quarterback or the ball carrier.
Ika already has a variety of moves that help him get past blockers. That comes in especially handy against the pass. With Chicago’s inability to get to the quarterback, and help the Bears’ defense gets in getting to the quarterback is welcome. Ika has that ability.
Poles pulls off yet another deal. He moves down one spot with the Los Angeles Chargers and picks up an additional pick, #158.
Poles goes back to Tennessee in search of a wide receiver with this pick. After not getting the results he and the Chicago Bears coaches expected in 2022 from Velus Jones, Poles hopes that Cedric Tillman becomes a bigger part of the offense than Jones was.
At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Tillman has the NFL body teams want in a receiver. He also has the NFL smarts instilled in him by his father, former NFL player Cedric Cornell Tillman.
Tillman is also a hard-working player. Despite having a good high school career, he didn’t receive much attention or offers. He went to Tennessee and worked hard to get himself in a position to be one of the top wide receiver prospects in this draft.
Tillman has a strong, well-proportioned frame. Also, he has good speed and quickness. His feet help him explode off the snap. He has quick lateral and vertical movement. When he is able to use his long strides he has good acceleration downfield.
Tillman has great body control and is able to make adjustments to any pass. He does a good job at catching the pass under pressure.
Justin Fields needs to have proper targets in order to develop his passing. Tillman could be one of those dependable receivers.
With the Chicago Bears trading Roquan Smith at the trade deadline in 2022, they have a hole at linebacker. Undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn did a good job as middle linebacker before an injury cut his season short.
It still remains to be seen whether Sanborn has the skills to be a starting middle linebacker. He did, however, earn a shot to be considered. At any rate, the Bears still need to add quality depth at linebacker. They lacked that depth last season.
Poles likely adds a veteran or two to the linebackers unit. He’ll also need someone from the draft. That someone could be Owen Pappoe.
Pappoe has the experience you want in a prospect. He has starting experience since 2019. He showed to be a leader as well, having been named a team captain for the last two seasons.
At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds Pappoe has good size. Additionally, he has good athleticism. He also communicates well with his teammates to set up the proper alignments. He does a good job of working into the quarterback’s passing lanes.
Pappoe has good speed/quickness. He is able to chase down ball carriers easily and has good range. While he needs to work more on shedding blockers. He uses his speed to avoid them. However, he has long arms so if he does a better job of shedding blockers and using those long arms to keep them at bay he would be dangerous.
Pappoe will be an athletic and versatile defender in the NFL. He will be a dependable defender and a good blitzer to put pressure on the quarterback. As mentioned earlier, the Chicago Bears need to pressure the quarterback more than they did in 2022.
The one prevailing thought about what the Chicago Bears will do this offseason is Poles going after veteran offensive linemen via free agency. The Bears already have a load of young linemen who are developing.
However, having more quality players is always a good thing. Adding a player like Warren McClendon, who is used to winning titles, helps change the culture at Halas Hall.
McClendon is a three-year starter and back-to-back champion. He measures 6-foot-4 and weighs 300 pounds.
McClendon projects as a very good backup at the start of his career. He could be a good swing tackle. He even has the ability to play the three positions on the line. Also, he has a high motor and plays hard every time he is on the field.
McClendon has a high football IQ and always knows where he should be. He has good feet and keeps the pass rusher in front of him. He is able to get to the second level and knock out linebackers. Furthermore, he has good hands and uses a good punch to stun the defender (although he sometimes tends to use two hands to punch which can lead to him being out of position). He does a good job of anchoring and reinforcing the pocket.
Poles wants to overhaul the offensive line. Having McClendon on the roster helps improve the unit.
The Chicago Bears did a good job of overhauling the secondary. Poles added cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker to strengthen the starting lineup. Now Poles can add more firepower and add depth.
It begins with DJ Turner out of Michigan.
Turner is an athletic freak. he has excellent speed, clocking a 4.28-40. In addition, he has a ridiculous 6.29 three-cone (the three-cone drill tests a prospect’s agility).
Turner has excellent explosiveness and with his speed and athleticism, he can keep up with any receiver. He uses his explosive steps to come downhill on screens and stays step-for-step with speedy receivers downfield. If he does lose a step on the receiver he has great make-up speed to catch up.
In addition to being gifted athletically, Turner can be physical as well. He uses a quick hand jab to knock receivers out of their route or to delay them. He doesn’t overdo it, though. He knows when to be physical and won’t jump too much and get out of position. Additionally, he uses great technique when tackling.
Turner has the ability to play in both man and zone schemes. He can stay with receivers in man coverage and also keeps his eyes on the quarterback. In zone coverage, he quickly recognizes routes and where to be.
Adding Turner to Jaylon Johnson and Gordon gives them a trio that could give the Bears an elite cornerbacks unit for years to come.
Poles and the Chicago Bears continue to improve the secondary in this round. It is critical that the secondary be very strong. The NFC North has some good quarterbacks so the secondary will continually be under pressure. That is also the case around the league. Teams are getting more talented quarterbacks so there is a need for a quality secondary.
Ronnie Hickman adds quality depth to the safety position. The Bears already have Brisker and Eddie Jackson. Hickman can be a dependable backup and eventually be a starter.
Hickman adds flexibility to the Bears’ defense. He can play either the strong or free safety spot. He can stay in the box and tackle well and cover tight ends. He uses great technique and wraps well to make a big hit. Additionally, he has a tendency to diagnose a play, trigger, and get to the ball.
Hickman does a great job of processing a play. He looks into the backfield and quickly determines what is happening and moves accordingly.
Poles is trying to continue to fill the roster with young, athletic players. He has Elijah Hicks as a backup and adding Hickman gives Chicago a strong, young, and athletic safety unit.
Poles goes after another linebacker with this pick. He takes a risk and goes after OLB/EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.
Cox has the ability to play both with his hand on the ground or standing up. He projects to be an outside linebacker, however. Also, he has the ability to drop back in coverage when needed.
While Cox doesn’t possess great speed, he has a good first step and burst to get the jump on linemen.
Cox displays good agility, length, and foot speed to perform successful pass-rushing moves. He has good pursuit and the energy to chase down ball carriers. He has a high motor and plays to the whistle on every snap.
Cox left Florida after problems with the head coach and he prepared for the draft since. While he is a talented player, his dismissal from the team will hurt his draft stock. The Bears could afford to take a chance on him in the fifth round. This is something that helped them when they selected Jackson. Jackson dealt with a broken leg that had him tumble down from being projected in the first round to getting drafted in the fourth. Cox could be a low risk in the fifth round.
Former Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace once said that he would spend every draft looking for a quarterback in order to find the right guy. Well, Mitch Trubisky was the only quarterback he drafted during his tenure in Chicago.
Perhaps Poles can take over that pledge. When the new league year begins on March 15 the Bears will have only one quarterback. Poles will likely look for a veteran to be a backup but he could pick up a quarterback and have him sit behind Fields and another one.
The prospect can then prepare and eventually take over as the backup. Then the Bears could have a great duo at the all-important quarterback position. Should Fields go down, the prospect could step in and not have a big drop in production.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson could be a perfect backup for Fields. He is a dual-threat quarterback who could use his legs to extend a play or just run for yards.
In his college career, he threw for 10,710 yards and 88 touchdowns. He completed 63.3 percent of his passes. He also ran for 1,826 yards and 28 touchdowns. He ran for 1,254 and had 21 rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons at UCLA.
Thompson-Robinson is also a proven leader. He overcame a couple of injuries and a lot of criticism and doubt during his time at UCLA. He was able to lead them back into a bowl game in the 2022 season.
Thompson-Robinson has a good arm and he is able to fit the ball through tight windows. While he still has some developing to do he has the tools to have some success at the next level.
Cole Kmet had a good season in 2022. He was the leading receiver for the Chicago Bears. Hopefully, that is the springboard to even better seasons in Chicago.
There wasn’t much behind Kmet, however. The other three tight ends on the roster combined for 6 catches and 52 yards. That just isn’t enough for opponents to treat honestly.
Payne Durham can help improve the unit.
Durham gives Fields another big receiver to target. That comes in especially handy in the red zone. If Durham plays well the Bears could use him together with Kmet. Then Fields has two big athletic targets to go to in the end zone. Opposing defenses have to pick one or the other. Add in some dependable wide receivers and Fields has a lot of good red zone options.
There isn’t one thing that Durham is elite in. He is, however, solid in a number of areas so he is a well-rounded player. Additionally, he is a good blocker so he’ll see more time because of that. He is also a tough player with a high motor.
Durham has progressed very nicely considering he didn’t play high school football until his senior year. In total, he only had 22 catches. The fact that he is now among the top tight end prospects in this draft shows how hard he works to improve.
Durham would be a fine backup and solidify the tight ends unit.
Poles continues to look for offensive line help, highlighting how important it is to the offense.
For his last pick of the draft, Poles gets Braeden Daniels from Utah. Daniels has experience playing left tackle, right tackle, and right guard. He has the temperament that Poles wants in offensive linemen. He can play nasty at times but is controlled. He can get under a defender’s skin but not to the point where he’ll draw a penalty.
Daniels has good feet and he usually keeps himself balanced. He stays square to the pass rusher and has good leverage. Additionally, he is very athletic and has excellent lateral movement.
While he has experience at both tackle spots, he projects better as a guard. In fact, he could compete for a starting spot at guard. He does a good job at getting to the second level, especially on inside runs.
Daniels is projected to be a quality reserve. He will help anywhere along the line and keep the starters fresh.