Bears remain near top of 2023 NFL Draft after loss to Packers

It’s tough to put a positive spin on a 3-10 season, but for the Chicago Bears, there’s reason to be hopeful even after the Bears lost their sixth-straight game in Week 13.

This time, it was to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Losing to Green Bay stings, as it always does. But the loss kept the Bears’ 2023 NFL Draft position at the No. 2 overall pick, where an elite pass rusher like Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. or stud defensive lineman like Georgia’s Jalen Carter would be the obvious choices to combat NFC North offenses for years to come.

Week 14 is a critical one for the Bears’ draft position. Chicago is on its bye, and if the other three-win teams — Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams — lose their games, they’ll have the same number of losses as the Bears (10) with weaker strength of schedules.

Put another way, their losses will be worse than Chicago’s, and they’ll be pushed above the Bears in Round 1. There’s a chance Chicago will fall from No. 2 overall to No. 4 overall despite not playing next Sunday.

There’s a lot of season left to be played, and with how explosive Justin Fields has been over the last several weeks, there’s a chance Chicago will sneak in a win or two before the year ends. Tracking the Bears’ first-round pick will be a roller coaster ride.

The good news for the Chicago Bears is that they aren’t chasing a first-round pick for a quarterback this year. Dropping a few slots in the first round won’t change the type of player they’re likely to get (or target) with their first selection. Sure, it’d be great if GM Ryan Poles could enter draft season with a valuable asset he can leverage into a bounty of picks. But if a few wins plant seeds of a winning culture for the future, they’ll be worth it.