2024 NFL Draft: Here’s where the Bears OFFICIALLY pick in the first round

The Chicago Bears’ 2023 season is over, and it didn’t end the way fans had hoped.

Week 18’s underwhelming loss to Green Bay not only punched the Packers’ ticket to the playoffs, it also resurrected questions about coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields’ futures in Chicago.

Eberflus appears to be the safer of the two, considering the Bears won five of their last eight games and were one of the NFL’s best defenses under his watch during that stretch.

Fields, on the other hand, was forgettable in the season finale, and with USC’s Caleb Williams projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, it seems unlikely that the Chicago Bears will pass on the chance to add a special talent like the former Heisman Trophy winner.

This Caleb Williams season
Mixtape is the best I’ve seen since tayvon Austin pic.twitter.com/0whDR0Gfze

— John (@iam_johnw) January 8, 2024

General manager Ryan Poles will have that chance now that the 2024 NFL Draft order for the non-playoff teams is set in stone. The Bears officially have two top-10 picks, including that first overall selection, thanks to last year’s trade with the Carolina Panthers.

Chicago’s loss to Green Bay “improved” their own first-round pick to No. 9 overall.

There’s a chance Poles won’t have the same assessment of Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye as I do, maybe he’ll think Justin Fields’ upside remains high enough that trading the first pick is more beneficial than adding a rookie quarterback who doesn’t move the needle much more than Fields already does.

But there’s something about the way the Chicago Bears’ 2023 season ended that makes me think Fields won’t be in Chicago next year, and that the only decision Poles has to make at quarterback is between Williams and Maye.

What do you think, Bears fans? Do you think Poles will use the first pick on a quarterback or will he trade it and roll with Justin Fields in 2024? Make your voice heard by entering a comment below. And if you’d like to enjoy an ad-free experience on Bears Talk, please consider upgrading to a premium account. Bear Down!