2024 NFL Draft: Here’s where the Bears pick in the 1st round entering Week 13

The Chicago Bears improved their record to 4-8 after upsetting the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12’s Monday night matchup. It wasn’t an overly satisfying victory for the Bears, even if it was the first NFC North win for coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles.

Justin Fields wasn’t great, although he was clutch on the Bears’ final drive, firing a seed to DJ Moore that set up Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal. But his two fumbles on the preceding two series had Bears fans wondering if they were watching the last of the Fields era in Chicago. With five games left in the 2023 season, the Bears must decide whether Fields will remain in their plans in 2024 and beyond, it certainly felt like Fields fumbled away his chance of being the QB1.

But there’s something about Fields that makes it almost impossible to give up on him. He’s been a dude for as long as he’s been playing football, and he put his “it” factor on display on that final drive. He showed what kind of leader he is after the game in the locker room too, when he took ownership of the fumbles and thanked his teammates for having his back.

The response from Bears players in support of Fields … with Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles watching … was telling. Fields is the guy inside the locker room, even if the front office hasn’t committed to him yet.

The main reason why there hasn’t been a clear statement of support for Fields by the Bears is obvious: Chicago is trending towards having two high first-round picks in the 2024 NFL draft, which will feature two blue-chip quarterbacks who are expected to come off the board in the first three selections: Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina).

One of the Bears’ two high first-rounders is courtesy of the Carolina Panthers, who lost again in Week 12 and dropped their record to 1-10. If the 2024 NFL Draft were held today, the Chicago Bears would be on the clock.

And the calls for Caleb Williams would be deafening.

The Bears’ win over the Vikings has their own first-rounder inching toward being knocked out of the top five picks. They’re currently slotted No. 4 overall, but with with six teams also sporting four wins, the Bears could quickly find themselves near the bottom of the top 10.

At this point, it doesn’t really matter where the Bears’ first-round pick ends up. Building a winning culture means more than whether Chicago’s first-rounder is No. 5 overall or No. 9.

What really matters is that the Panthers keep losing. Carolina is in absolute chaos right now, they fired head coach Frank Reich and several offensive assistants this week. They might have one more win in them this season, at best.

Assuming the Panthers max out at one more win and finish the season at 2-15, the Bears will be assured a top-three pick: Williams, Maye, or Marvin Harrison Jr.

It’s going to be a fun six week sprint to the finish line in the race for the 2024 NFL Draft’s top pick.

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