The Chicago Bears have to make a franchise-altering decision in less than three months, and Adam Schefter says there is a growing belief around the NFL that they have already made it.
Schefter said during a Monday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that there is “widespread consensus” around the NFL that the Bears are going to draft former USC star quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick. There will likely be teams that want to trade up to the top spot for Williams, but Schefter indicated the Bears will stick with the pick and trade Justin Fields.
“There are a few issues with this. Number one, are the Bears going to be willing to move on from taking Caleb Williams, which I believe seems to be the widespread consensus around the league: that Caleb Williams will be the No. 1 pick,” the ESPN insider said. “And if they are willing to move on from him, then you have to like Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels enough — or Justin Fields.
“But again, the feeling around the league seems to be that they’ll wind up trading Justin. Whether or not they do, we’ll see, but that seems to be the feeling.”
Adam Schefter just said on The Pat McAfee Show that the belief around the NFL is that the #Bears will draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“There are a few issues with this. Number one, are the Bears going to be willing to move on from taking Caleb…
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) February 5, 2024
The Bears could always trade down a spot or two from No. 1, draft a quarterback, and still trade Fields, but Schefter does not believe they like Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels enough to do that.
Chicago traded the top overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a massive haul last year. One recent report claimed the return could be even more significant if they move down the board again. But if the Bears genuinely believe Williams is a franchise quarterback and they are not as high on Fields, staying at No. 1 is the right thing to do.
Williams may have hinted over the weekend that he is eyeing a team other than the Bears, but that is not his decision to make. He is almost certainly going to be the first player off the board. The only question is which team will have the pick when draft day comes around.
