Combine Performance Of Stroud And Richardson Help Bears’ Chances For Big Haul With First Pick In Draft

Quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were among the players who seemingly elevated their stock at the NFL Combine, and that’s a good thing for the Bears. They hold the first overall pick in the draft and appear committed to giving incumbent Justin Fields another season to prove himself rather than invest in Bryce Young, Will Levis, Stroud or Richardson.

In an insightful interview, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles told NBC Sports’ Peter King he spoke to at least three teams at the Combine about trading the first overall pick. It’s likely more teams are involved as more than 10 have major quarterback questions, including long-term options for Tampa Bay and Green Bay.

Houston, Indianapolis, Carolina and Las Vegas are expected to be the most aggressive, with Seattle sliding off this list when it agreed to give Geno Smith a three-year deal worth $35 million a season.

But don’t rule out aggressive moves by the New York Jets, Washington, or even Tennessee. New Orleans, like Seattle, made its move earlier this week, signing Derek Carr to a four-year contract after he was released by the Raiders.

“I’m blessed to be able to read people,” Poles said about the quarterback market.“I can feel it. There’s urgency out there. There’s pressure.”

Poles acknowledges the Bears have major needs all over the field, and only a few can be addressed in free agency. With the salary cap being adjusted upward in recent years, teams are doing a better job hanging onto their most talented players, diluting the level of available veterans. That only increases the importance of the draft for a rebuilding team.

Poles spelled out for King how he is seeking to acquire massive capital through the first overall pick, most likely with multiple trades. The easiest scenario to envision involves trades with Houston or Indianapolis, swapping the first pick for the second and the fourth, and then another major trade to move down in the first round with Las Vegas or Carolina, moving the second or fourth picks for a package that includes the seventh or ninth picks.

Poles, per King, colors the most impactful players on his draft board in blue. He hinted there are only six-eight of those in this year’s draft but believes he can land at least one of those while also adding first-round picks in the next two drafts.

It’s possible he could pull the trigger on the first trade before March 15, when free agency begins, but believes the market will only continue to build leading up to the draft, which begins April 27.

“Should we do this before free agency? Or should we wait? I don’t know,” Poles told King for his weekly Football Morning in America column. “That’s what I’ve communicated [to teams]. I could carry this all the way until we’re on the clock the night of the draft. But then there’s teams that want some certainty because, ‘If I need a quarterback bad, should I do that now when some (free agent quarterbacks) are out there?’ To me, they’ve got to go so much more above to do it now. I’m not greedy with it. But they’re gonna have to go above and beyond to close the door now.”

King points out that Colts GM Chris Ballard “is under the gun” and would pay highly for a quarterback. But he believes Panthers owner David Tepper is even more motivated and would offer a bigger package to move from nine to one. That deal, King speculates, could land Poles three first-round picks (in ’23, ’24 and ’25) in addition to multiple second- and third-round picks this year and next.

Poles said he was contacted at the Combine by one team whose first-rounder is lower than he believed was realistic. “If I’m going to the next tier [on the Bears’ draft board], you’re gonna have to make up for that with more capital,” Poles said. “The interesting part is having a conversation with one team, and then one hour later another team texts you wanting in on the trade and they’re not afraid of what the floor of what you’re asking for is.”

King wrote that Poles views the first overall pick as the gift that keeps on giving.

“No one’s gonna rush me,” Poles said. “I know I can get a ’24 one and a ’25 one. You’re telling me for the next two years I’ll have two ones? That’s either four really good players, or if we’re cruising, we can still trade back.”

Poles isn’t likely to be this candid again until after his trades have been made. But it’s clear he’s going to be in demand.