The Athletic's top NFL draft expert, Dane Brugler, recently released his coveted mock draft ahead of the start of the NFL offseason.
In it, he revealed what NFL teams believe the Bears will do this offseason while factoring that into his selection.
"I don’t know what he’ll [Ryan Poles] do, but I can tell you what other NFL teams believe he’ll do: trade Justin Fields and draft a quarterback at No. 1. This is as much a financial decision as it is a football decision," Brugler wrote.
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With that, Brugler selected USC's Caleb Williams for the Bears with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
"Williams isn’t a perfect prospect, by any means, but he is the favorite for No. 1 because of his playmaking instincts. He needs to be more consistent, but his poise and creativity are what makes him special," Brugler wrote.
For what it's worth, Brugler drafted Alabama edge Dallas Turner for the Bears with the No. 9 pick in the draft.
"Even with the in-season trade for Montez Sweat, Chicago will be in the market for another impact pass rusher," writes Brugler. "An ideal fit in Matt Eberflus’ scheme, Turner is a freak athlete who rushes the passer, stops the run and should continue to get better and better."
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It appears the predominant thinking around the league is that the Bears will trade Fields and draft Williams. Not to discredit the report, but from Brugler's reporting of asking other teams, it's possible teams are trying to control the narrative by pushing for the Bears to trade Fields.
However, as I mentioned, the dominant opinion appears to be the Bears will trade Fields and draft Williams, or another quarterback with the No. 1 pick. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah shared the same thought on the Rich Eisen show recently.
“I just think he’s a rare, rare talent and I can’t see the Chicago Bears bypassing that,” Jeremiah said of Williams.
“He’s got an unbelievable amount of horsepower in terms of how he can generate velocity with arm, what he can do with the force with his legs, the creativity we all know about. I just think every quarterback has some risk. Do I wish he played on time a bit more? Sure. But I think (Patrick) Mahomes is the greatest example of that. You can kind of corral that without taking away the magic.”