Ask any Chicago Bears fan what they think GM Ryan Poles will do with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and the response is almost unanimous. They expect a trade — and a big one — to happen very soon.
It doesn’t matter how far back Poles decides to trade, either. Bears fans want just one thing: a bounty of future picks that includes multiple first-rounders. Anything less than that would feel like a disappointment.
And that’s why NFL.com’s latest mock draft from Lance Zierlein is, in a word, disappointing. Zierlein has the Chicago Bears staying put at No. 1 and drafting Alabama edge rusher, Will Anderson Jr.
“The quarterbacks put on a show at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, thus increasing the critical position’s supply and inherently lowering the demand for the No. 1 pick,” Zierlein wrote. “Add in the current uncertainty surrounding Jalen Carter, and Chicago ultimately stays put and grabs this draft’s top edge rusher.”
