This Mock Draft Would Be a Nightmare Scenario for Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are in a powerful position in the 2024 NFL Draft. Owners of the first and ninth overall picks, general manager Ryan Poles controls what will happen at the top and bottom of the top 10.

At this point, the first pick feels like a foregone conclusion. Credible league insiders all agree that the Bears will select Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick. I don’t see any reality in which that doesn’t happen, but anything’s possible with Justin Fields’ trade market virtually non-existent right now.

The real Chicago Bears draft begins with their second first-rounder, No. 9 overall. And if the top eight picks fall the way the latest 2024 Mock Draft from the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast has them going, it’ll be bad news for Poles.

If the draft falls like this, #Bears trade out of 9. pic.twitter.com/4PoDzcUd6t

— Bryan Perez (@BryanPerezNFL) March 9, 2024

This mock draft has all three receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze — off the board by the seventh pick. Joe Alt (OT, Notre Dame) is gone by the eighth pick. The Bears are left to select Texas defensive lineman Byron Murphy at No. 9.

With all due respect to Murphy, he’s not a top-10 prospect. If the Bears want to invest that big of an asset into a three-tech, they have better options in free agency, with names like Christian Wilkins and Chris Jones hitting the market as of March 11. Murphy certainly has an intriguing skill set as an interior penetrator, but he isn’t one of the 10 best players in this year’s draft. Not even close.

If the 2024 NFL Draft falls this way, the Chicago Bears are more likely to do one of two things: 1) Select Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the ninth pick, or 2) trade down.

There’s a problem with that second option, though. The Stock Exchange mock draft has four quarterbacks off the board in the first five picks. The Bears need JJ McCarthy to slide to No. 9 to maximize any trade-back opportunity. With all four passers done and dusted, Chicago may have no choice but to stay at nine and pick the best available player.

To me, that’s Brock Bowers. Sign up for a free user account and tell us in the comments which player you’d take at No. 9 if the first round unfolds this way.