2024 NFL Draft: Here’s where the Bears pick in the 1st round entering Week 16

The Chicago Bears’ 2023 season is over following their Week 15 heartbreaking loss to the Cleveland Browns.

The list of who to blame for the Bears’ third fourth-quarter collapse of the season is long. Head coach Matt Eberflus’s defense allowed 38-year-old Joe Flacco to throw for 374 yards, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was rattled and confused by the Browns’ aggressive style of play, and Justin Fields looked like “just a guy” for most of the game.

With nothing left to play for but roster evaluation, the most important thing for the Chicago Bears is 2024 NFL Draft positioning. Their loss helped their pick, but there’s some bad news from Sunday’s results: the Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons. And while the win didn’t change their draft slotting, it certainly made the Bears’ chances to end the season with the No. 1 overall pick not as great.

Carolina still picks first, but at 2-12, they only lead the Patriots and Cardinals by one game (both New England and Arizona are 3-11).

Meanwhile, the Bears pick fifth overall thanks to their loss.

The next three games will be all about scoreboard-watching in Chicago. There will be a whole lot of 2024 mock drafts, too.

I have a sneaky feeling Justin Fields won’t want to read them after how he played in Cleveland.

‘Tis the season, right?