The Chicago Bears currently own the No. 1 and No. 9 overall picks in the NFL Draft later this month.
Everyone knows what the Bears are going to do with the top overall selection. Barring a dramatic turn of events over the next week or so, they are going to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
What Chicago will do with the ninth pick, on the other hand, is up for debate.
Many feel that the Bears really like Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze and are prepared to select him ninth overall if he is on the board.
However, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus sees a way that Chicago can trade down and still land Odunze.
Monson suggests that the Bears trade No. 9 to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for picks 11 and 108, the latter of which is an early fourth-rounder.
Monson feels that Chicago would still be able to bag Odunze at No. 11, as he has Georgia tight end Brock Bowers going to the New York Jets one pick earlier.
He then has the Vikings using the ninth overall selection to grab North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Should the Bears pull off such a trade, they would add another draft pick while still managing to select Odunze, who would join DJ Moore and Keenan Allen in what would suddenly be a loaded receiving corps.
Odunze is coming off of a spectacular 2023 campaign in which he hauled in 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The 21-year-old arrived at Washington in 2020 and broke out in 2022 when he caught 75 passes for 1,145 yards and seven scores.
We’ll see if the Bears decide to trade back on April 25.
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