Introduction
The Chicago Bears need to pursue a number of aggressive trades to build up the defense and the run game before the November trade deadline. To be clear, this is not because trading premium picks for defenders is a smart team-building strategy. It usually is not, as indicated by a number of recent trades where teams sent away valuable assets to gain players in pursuit of “a playoff push” only to have injury or misfortune derail a season (or two).
No, the fundamental reason the Bears need to pursue
such trades is that Ryan Poles cannot be allowed to pick in the third and fourth rounds of the NFL Draft again. This is illustrated by his selections of Velus Jones, Zacch Pickens, Roschon Johnson, Tyler Scott, Tory Taylor, Ruben Hyppolyte II, Sam Roush, and Zavion Thomas. Against this there is Malik Muhammad, who is very promising, but the odds are simply against trusting Poles with these selections.
Additionally, he should not be allowed to pick defensive players in the second round of the draft, as proven by Kyler Gordon (who is beginning to resemble the Easter Bunnyand Sasquatch at this point), Jaquan Brisker (no longer on the team), Tyrique Stevenson (unfortunately still on the team), Gervon Dexter (no longer on the team), and Shemar Turner (Schrodinger’s Bear – both on and off the team).
An argument could be made that he should be allowed to make selections in the first round of the draft, because so far that has gone relatively well. Unfortunately, though, allowing Poles access to a first-round pick would give him the potential to trade down into the second round or worse, the dreaded third round. Therefore, those picks must also be sent away.
This means that while the following suggestions have the benefit of improving the defense, the goal is keeping Poles from making more poor selections that fans will have to face, tolerate, justify, or debate depending on their preferences.
2027 Round 1 Selection
Reflexively, it makes sense to trade this selection for a defensive tackle. For example, the Titans are struggling, and while they are likely committed to Cam Ward for 2027, it seems obvious that they will need a backup plan in place for 2028. Could Chicago make Mike Borgonzi an offer too good to refuse in an attempt to land Jeffery Simmons? If the Titans were a well-run organization, yes. However, there is no sign that the team will be willing to part with their $105million All-Pro. This means, then, that Chicago needs to deal with a more practical and ruthless general manager.
Enter Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles. Cooper DeJean was arguably the best defensive player in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he has already helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl. There are two years left on his rookie contract, and he’s been elite. Still, Roseman has proven time and again that he is willing to take the long-term view to team building. He has already seen his elite right tackle retire (and has to keep him on the roster for cap purposes) while also sending away his starting center. Now it’s time to make it easier for him to replace Lane Johnson while solving one of Chicago’s biggest weaknesses.
Chicago Sends: 2027 CHI R1 + 2028 CHI R2
Chicago Receives: CB Cooper DeJean + 2028 PHI R5
2027 Round 2 Selection
The Chargers are in a tailspin and Joe Hortiz is going to have to make decisions about the team’s future before he has that opportunity taken away from him. In some ways, the emotionally satisfying move is for Chicago to offer a 4th-round pick in exchange for the last half-season (more or less) of Khalil Mack’s current contract. That’s high compared to recent estimates, but Chicago has also been put in a tight spot by Montez Sweat’s PED suspension and other GMs know it.
A more appealing option is for the Bears to make an offer for Tuli Tuipulotu, in the last year of his contract and at a negotiations dead end with the team that drafted him. Tuipulotu could command a similar deal to what the Commanders received for Montez Sweat when he was traded to Chicago, but remember that a 2nd-rounder from Chicago in 2024 was far earlier than one in 2027 will hopefully be, and Tuipolotu already has a Pro Bowl and a 13-sack season under his belt. Therefore, this proposal adds a sweetener by exchanging a pesky 3rd-round pick in 2028 for a much more palatable 5th-rounder.
Remember that the Bears have multiple players who can be cut to free up cap space, even leaving aside restructures, if such a trade were to happen and an extension would be needed.
Chicago Sends: 2027 CHI R2 + 2028 CHI R3
Chicago Receives: Tuli Tuipulotu + 2028 LAC R5
2027 Round 3 Selection
The Bears need a powerful run game, and Roschon Johnson (notably a 4th-round selection) is not able to provide the extra depth they need. Already, an injury to Kyle Monangai has revealed how thin the Bears are at halfback. Therefore, it’s finally time to reach out to the Tennessee Titans. Supposedly, the Titans are not interested in trading Tony Pollard and it would take a strong offer to move them off of that position. However, Chicago is in a position to make that kind of strong offer for the former 4th-round pick.
Pollard has been able to amass at least a thousand yards from scrimmage for the last five seasons, and if Chicago needs three tight ends, it certainly needs three running backs.
Chicago Sends: CHI 2027 R3
Chicago Receives: Tony Pollard
2027 Round 4 Selection
So far, this proposal has done nothing to improve the interior of the defensive line, which is arguably the greatest weakness of the team. Fortunately, there are many struggling teams in the NFL. Grady Jarrett is currently 6th in ESPN’s pass rush win rate and 2nd in run stop win rate, but he is the only member of the defensive line consistently delivering at a high level.
Enter the Washington Commanders, coming off of the most mind-numbing tie game imaginable and in need for a reset. Daron Payne is in the last year of his contract, and he arguably would need a new contract. However, it’s possible to leave any such move for later. Instead, Chicago could simply take on Payne and see how the season plays out for the 29-year-old. If he plays closer to his in-season performance (with a 1.6-yard depth-of-tackle and a 10+% pressure rate), he might earn an extension. If he’s closer to 2025 (with a sub 9% pressure rate and just over 2 yards allowed before a tackle on average), then the Bears can let him walk. To sweeten the deal for both sides, a pick-swap in 2028 rounds out the proposal of a 4th-rounder.
Chicago Sends: CHI 2027 R4 + CHI 2028 R4
Chicago Receives: Daron Payne + WAS 2028 R5
Conclusions
As should be obvious, with a small amount of grinding it is possible to make sure that Ryan Poles will not be able to make a draft selection in the second, third, or fourth round of 2027. This same approach also gets rid of the native second-, third-, and fourth-round selections of Chicago in 2028 while strengthening their draft power in the vital fifth round there (the “Braxton Jones/Austin Booker” zone, as it were). This has to be considered a victory for the Bears. It also addresses three key needs on defense and strengthens a vital aspect of the offense.
The alternative to this sort of action is to believe that a team that is 3-2 this season and 14-8 since the arrival of the new head coach will figure it out, and that the limitations of the general manager will resolve without such dramatic action. The team went 2-1 with backup quarterbacks and is tied for the fifth-fewest points allowed on the season. It might be too early to panic and to functionally trade away multiple drafts. But where’s the fun in that?
