Bears Trade Pitch Flips Third Pick for Three Draft Picks, Two Firsts Among Them
If wide receiver Rome Odunze is selected by the Chicago Bears at the ninth pick in the NFL draft, they will have to make some of the hardest selections in history.
After leading the country in receiving yards in the 2023 season and playing through the end of the National Championship Game, Odunze’s talent is both undeniable and verifiable. The Bears will have a franchise tentpole for the next ten or more years if Chicago chooses to draft him in the end. He has the potential to be a generational player. If Odunze is available with the ninth pick, though, the trade offers that
Kimes presented the situation to Simms, who rejected the trade proposal and stated he would accept the fictitious deal if he were in charge of Chicago.are sure to flood the front office might be too good to refuse.
On Tuesday, April 9, Chris Simms of NBC Sports and Mina Kimes of ESPN collaborated to create a “War Room Mock Draft” of the forthcoming first round. Assuming Odunze stays on the board, Kimes made one hypothetical trade offer to the Bears for the ninth pick du
She proposed a trade with the Buffalo Bills that would give Chicago the No. 28 pick in the current draft, a second-round pick (60th overall) in 2024, and Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2025—a prospect that, considering the talent on the Bills’ roster, is probably going to be in the mid- to late-20s.ring that exercise.
Thus, the Bears would receive pick 28 this year, a first pick the following year (which would be a Buffalo first, which might not be all that valuable), and a second-round pick this year, according to Kimes. Thus, in the second round, you will have the opportunity to double dip there. You still do require quite a bit. Your team is strong. If you were the Bears, would you choose to take this or would you continue with Odunze?
As his joint defense for passing, Simms pointed to Chicago’s trade for wideout Keenan Allen earlier in the offseason, the depth of talent at wideout in the 2024 draft class, and the other roster needs the Bears could address by hoarding top-100 picks.
I believe I’m accepting it. Yes, I do like Odunze. I guess I’m not as much in love with him as the other draft public members are. I think Brian Thomas Jr., an LSU product, is really talented. Maybe I like that team more than Odunze.
However, it seems to me that the Bears, who acquired Keenan Allen in a trade, are not in a rush to have Odunze fully here. As you mentioned, the Bears are a team to look out for this season. You saw how they performed at the end of the year, so I would. They performed well. There is talent in defense. If Montez Sweat can be used as a pass rusher, that is,
Even if you trade down, a receiver might still be obtained. .. Even though [he] might not be as good as Odunze or some of the top picks in the draft, you can still add a guy to your roster who can strengthen your team. I would thus accept
The majority of the “draft public,” as Simms pointed out, adore what Odunze has to offer.
After trading three-year starter Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the offseason, Chicago is almost certain to select a quarterback with the first overall pick, and USC standout Caleb Williams is the overwhelming favorite to start for the Bears going forward. General manager Ryan Poles might find it impossible to pass up the chance to pair Williams with a receiver with a comparable skill set who is coming up through the ranks at the same time as him, especially if the Bears have the same high expectations for Odunze as the majority of the league.
Chicago’s decision regarding what to do with the ninth pick is heavily influenced by the Bears
that trade.
