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Trading Justin Fields to the Steelers all but locked in what the Bears’ plan for the first overall pick in April’s upcoming draft. Right now, it is presumed the pick is going to be QB, Caleb Williams. On March 21st, Bill Zimmerman, Deputy Editor for Windy City Gridiron, tweeted Caleb Williams is 99% likely to be the Bears pick at number 1.
This means we can finally pivot to what the Bears do with their second first round pick, which happens to be pick number 9. The Bears options at pick 9 seem to be endless. They could draft a wide receiver, tackle, edge, defensive tackle, or even trade down to accumulate more draft picks. The Bears currently only have 4 picks after trading a 4th for former Chargers WR, Keenan Allen and a 5th rounder for former Bills C, Ryan Bates. Despite having limited draft capital, I think Ryan Poles has put himself in a position to have his best draft so far as general manager of the Chicago Bears.
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I believe the number one graded player on the Bears board for pick 9 will be WR, Rome Odunze. Odunze is my WR 2 in the draft and last year he had 92 receptions, totaling 1,640 yards and 13 TD. He is a very polished receiver, who moves well and can run the entire route tree with ease. He’s got a great catch radius. Perhaps the only negative is his lack of explosiveness. Odunze ran a 4.45 at the combine, which was faster than I thought he’d run. He may not have burner speed like Malik Nabers or Xiaver Worthy, but he definitely is fast enough for “lack of explosiveness” to not be a legitimate reason to not draft the kid. The rest of the board I believe comes as follows: Malik Nabers, Olu Fashanu, and Brock Bowers.
Who the Bears decide to pick 9th overall really is not up to them, but will be dictated with how the board falls. I believe that 4 of the top 6 picks will be QBs, and the two non QBs selected will be Marvin Harrison Jr and Joe Alt. This would leave 3 of the following available for the Bears: Odunze, Nabers, Fashanu, and Bowers. The draft is always full of surprises and it never falls the way the mocks had them looking, but I predict that Odunze, Olu and Bowers will be the 3 available at number 9, ultimately going with Odunze.
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That being said, Brock Bowers would be a fascinating selection for the Bears. Bowers is my 3rd overall ranked prospect in the draft, and the best TE prospect I have seen. Last season he had 56 receptions, totaling 714 yards and 6 TD. He has elite speed, ball skills, and a rare YAC ability. He can play Y and Z receiver and even line up in the backfield to run reverses. The only negatives on Bowers is he is slightly undersized as a TE and he is an average blocker. I think the addition of Keenan Allen makes Bowers to the Bears less likely, with Allen playing the slot, which is where I would play Bowers. That’s not to say there is no shot of the Bears picking Bowers; they have a scheduled top 30 visit with him at Halas Hall and the Bears new OC, Shane Waldron loves his TEs. The TE position is critical in Waldron’s offense, running a lot of 2 and 3 TE sets.
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Ultimately, the only direction I would not want to go at 9 as a Bears fan would be EDGE or DT. I don’t think there is a stand alone, ‘must have’ outside or interior rusher in the draft. Don’t get me wrong, I like Laiatu Latu, Jared Verse, Jer’Zahn Newton, and Byron Murphy II, just not as top 10 picks. If the Bears wanted to go that route, I would see if I could trade down 3 to 4 spots and select the best one available after trading down. Though I hope it’s not a defensive player at 9, Ryan Poles has done a great job scouting talent in the draft and building the roster in his vision. Whatever he decides to do, I trust is in the best interest for the Chicago Bears.
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