For the past several weeks, and up until the day the 2024 NFL offseason opens, the talk around the Chicago Bears has been, and will be, about the future of quarterback Justin Fields.
There are those who believe the team should move on, and there are those who believe Fields should be the team's quarterback next season.
Count me as being on the latter side of that argument. Fields has proven he has more than enough to succeed as an NFL quarterback, and Chicago should stick with him.
In our latest mock draft, the Bears not only stick with Fields, but stick right where they're at in the first round.
With the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select the best player in his class, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Forget trading the pick, the Bears are going to ensure they come home with the draft's best player. No, it's not USC quarterback Caleb Williams or North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. It's Marvin Harrison Jr.
Go watch a little bit of tape on the guy if you haven't to this point. If after 10 minutes, you're not convinced he's the best player in the draft, I don't know what to tell you.
Harrison is a 6-foot-4 alpha wide receiver who can do anything -- yes, anything -- you ask him to do at the position. He holds no weaknesses. Speed, catch radius, full route tree, hands, body control ... it's all there.
You put Harrison next to D.J. Moore and let Fields operate with those two as his top wideouts and then tell me if he can't be the quarterback of these Chicago Bears.
News flash: Fields is going to ball out.
Onto the next pick.
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At pick no. 5, the Bears go after a much-needed position upgrade and select UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu.
Latu is graded all over the first round, with a few other guys ranked ahead of him at his position via some outlets. I would venture to guess that the main concern is a neck injury that caused him to "medically retire" a handful of years back when he played for the Washington Huskies.
However, Latu made a miraculous comeback and not only returned to the field, but returned to become one of the most dominant pass rushers in the country. Some might think he's more suited to be drafted between the 10-20 range, but what I see on tape is a guy who would mesh well with Montez Sweat and create a monstrous pass rushing duo.
Latu is 6-foot-5, 260 pounds and plays with such a menacing style. He is straight-up nasty when he wants to be. He holds a variety of pass rush moves with powerful, tactical hands that can win in different ways.
If you give this already-improving defense exactly what it's lacking, it should have the chance to become a top-5 unit next year. Bold words, yes. But, very true.
The Bears gave up their second rounder for Montez Sweat, which was well-worth it. But, here they see a chance to move back up into the second round and take advantage of value that fills a questionable position.
After making a trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the Bears select Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan at pick no. 44.
Morgan has been graded as a late-first and early-second type of prospect, so taking him here was a no-brainer. The 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle returned this season from a torn ACL and answered the bell. The major question mark was whether or not he could be the guy he once was, and Morgan became that and more.
He's firmly in the discussion to be one of the top 5-7 tackles in this loaded class.
Morgan is a powerful being, but moves really well for a guy his size. Some might wonder why the Bears move up to take a tackle here, but this is a mixture of two things. First, it's all about value. Morgan shouldn't have been available here, and any team would be crazy to pass on him.
Second, Braxton Jones still has some question marks. He's been good, if not great at times, but he's also continued to have his down moments. If the Bears can get a sure-fire upgrade at the left tackle position, and potentially trade Jones or keep him as valuable depth, then they should do it. Morgan is a clear-and-away uptick in production at the tackle position.
Once again, Ryan Poles finds himself wheeling and dealing. In the third round, the Bears originally had no picks after making the previous trade to acquire Morgan. But, Poles moves up again, proving that he is doing whatever it takes to give his quarterback the best chance at success.
Houston trades its third rounder this year, while moving 14 spots back and acquiring a fifth-round pick in 2024 as well. With this pick, the Bears draft one of the top three centers in this class in Georgia's Sedrick Van Pran.
Between Van Pran, Duke's Graham Barton and Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson, the Bears certainly have their options toward the top of the draft if they're wanting to finally move on from Cody Whitehair (and of course, let go of Lucas Patrick).
This offensive line just became a whole lot younger, and just as versatile, by drafting Van Pran, who could also slide to guard if need be.
Van Pran is 6-foot-4, 310 pounds and provides the Bears with a strong center who maintains a low center of gravity, but is also explosive off the line of scrimmage. Van Pran can get to the second level quickly but also moves well laterally if asked to.
From here on out, the Bears' starting offensive line looks set.
With their fourth-round pick, the Bears go back to the defensive side of the ball and select Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson.
At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, Robinson is a fairly versatile lineman who can play the end position and also on the interior on occasions.
As a pass rusher, his length is noticeable. He has hands that are always working which, accompanied by the long arms, work well in his favor. Robinson's motor is always churning, and he does well to help in the run game, especially on outside zone or toss plays. His speed is evident in those chase-down scenarios.
Robinson comes in and gives this line a huge lift, along with the previously-drafted Latu. This front seven is going to be far better in 2024.
The Bears traded their sixth-round pick to Miami for offensive lineman Dan Feeney, and their seventh rounder to New England for N'Keal Harry once upon a time, so this winds up being their fifth and final pick in the draft. Sure, it doesn't seem like a lot, but the Bears added some elite-level talent and gave this team a chance to earn back the division crown in 2024.