What Should The Chicago Bears Do With The Top 2023 NFL Draft Pick?

Thanks to some help in Indianapolis, the Chicago Bears secured the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and a potential king’s ransom as well. What should they do?

It’s hard to find intrigue for a 3-13 team on a collision course with a 14th loss. Unless, of course, the chance to get the first overall pick in the draft is on the line. The Chicago Bears entered Sunday with an outside chance to get the top pick, but they needed the Houston Texans to find a way to beat the Colts.

Everything worked out to perfection, with the Texans stunning the Colts on a touchdown on fourth and 20 and a subsequent two-point conversion to win 32-31. A 29-13 loss to the Vikings without their quarterback secured it for Chicago.

What Should The Chicago Bears Do With The Top 2023 NFL Draft Pick?

On the surface, there are several options. There will be discourse about the Chicago Bears potentially moving on from Justin Fields and opting to select either Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. This is truly silly. One, Fields was a better prospect than both players, with the prototypical size, athleticism, arm talent, accuracy, and playmaking ability to thrive in the NFL. He took important steps this season. People will suggest this possibility for clicks, or the Bears might leak it themselves to generate more trade interest for the top pick. It isn’t happening. Fields is the guy for 2023 and beyond.

Could they stay and select a top prospect? Sure! Both Will Anderson and Jalen Carter would be home run picks who could transform the defensive line almost immediately for Matt Eberflus’ defense.

However, the Chicago Bears need draft capital and a plethora of swings to rebuild this roster. They don’t have a strong offensive line in place. The defensive line lacks stars. The secondary isn’t finished. Adding playmakers on the outside who can play competent football is important too. It would feel easier to stick if the Bears still had their own second-round pick. Instead, they traded it for Chase Claypool, who didn’t really show much to warrant a potential extension after the 2023 season. As it stands, the Bears will likely next pick in the fifties, as they have Baltimore’s second rounder from the Roquan Smith trade.

Trading back is the best way for the Chicago Bears to recoup some capital in the 2023 NFL Draft while also snagging more in the 2024 NFL Draft, all to build around Fields and build up the defense for Eberflus. The desperation for quarterbacks will be real after a rough 2022 class, and there are several teams in the top 15 who could make the aggressive move.

Something like two firsts, two seconds, and a third or fourth-round pick is the starter for the Bears. A bidding war could push things higher, giving the Bears what they need to find starters at tackle, on the interior of the offensive line, a WR1, and a defensive cornerstone or two.

General manager Ryan Poles got himself behind the eight ball a bit in the Claypool trade, but the number one pick will be crucial for him and the Chicago Bears to rebuild this franchise into a contender.