Could the Washington Commanders swing a trade with the Chicago Bears to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft?
Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus thinks it’s a possibility.
The Commanders currently own the No. 2 selection in the draft this April, but they may want to trade up to No. 1 in order to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
Not only is Williams widely viewed as the best prospect in this year’s draft class, but he also has a history with Washington’s new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury from Kingsbury’s brief stay at USC (he was a senior offensive analyst for the Trojans this past season).
Spielberger suggests that the Commanders could trade the No. 2 pick, a second-rounder and a 2025 first-rounder to the Bears in exchange for No. 1.
There has also been speculation that Williams does not want to play for Chicago, but Spielberger has debunked those rumors. At least for now.
Washington is in desperate need of a quarterback, as the Sam Howell experiment has not worked out. Plus, the Commanders have been looking for a franchise quarterback for quite some time now and have been unable to strike gold.
Williams could be that guy for them.
The 22-year-old is coming off of a fantastic junior campaign in which he threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 68.6 percent of his passes. He also punched in 11 rushing scores.
Washington went 4-13 this season, ending the year by losing nine straight games. It has not posted a winning campaign since 2015 and has only registered two winning seasons overall since 2008.
The Commanders have also not won a playoff game since January 2006, so, clearly the franchise is starving for a modicum of success.
Trading up for the No. 1 pick would allow them to take Williams and potentially begin building something in the nation’s capital.
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