The Chicago Bears are in a great spot ahead of this April’s NFL draft. They’re also in a really tough spot.
With the overall no. 1 pick in this year’s draft– thanks to the team’s headline-grabbing mega-deal with the Carolina Panthers last season for their overall no. pick that year– the Bears will have first dibs on selecting USC’s Heisman award-winning blue chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams.
But they also have quarterback Justin Fields on hand, coming off his best, most complete, season where he showed flashes of brilliance along with a clearly improved level of field maturity.
Chicago Bears Likely To Trade Justin Fields
The consensus opinion among experts and insiders is that Chicago will not trade away the draft’s top draft pick a second straight year. Another consensus opinion among experts and insiders is that they will, indeed, select Williams in the no. 1 slot.
That would mean, obviously, that the Bears will trade Fields. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already been mentioned as potential interested parties in the soon-to-be 25-year-old Fields, who was the Bears’ no. 1 draft pick in 2021.
DJ Moore Wants Fields to Stay
One major supporter of Fields and a proponent of keeping him as the Bears’ play caller is wide receiver DJ Moore. In a recent interview, the veteran offensive presence, who came to the Bears last season in the deal with Carolina, doubled down on his full support of keeping Fields.
“I still don’t think they compare to Justin right now,” Moore said Monday on NFL Total Access, when asked about the quarterbacks available in this year’s draft.
Fields and Moore developed a great chemistry last year, both on the field and off the field, which translated to big success.
“The relationship jelled real well from the beginning,” Moore said, regarding his bond with Fields. “Since I got traded, he was in contact, and we started throwing together, so it made the transition into games and everything easy.”
When asked about what the Bears should do in the draft, assuming the team keeps Fields, Moore was quick to mention bringing in another receiving tool for his QB.
“I want to say, yeah, we could add another receiver,” Moore said. “They got some real talented ones [in the draft]. I know Marvin (Harrison Jr.), so that’d be a choice of mine. But any of those guys that are the big names, I’ve seen and really liked.”
Moore Fully Supports Fields
Last December, when the Bears weren’t entirely sure that they’d have the overall no. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and the quarterback dilemma was more of an abstract issue to be addressed later, Moore chimed in first with his feeling that the team should hold on to Fields.
“He’s a dynamic player, dynamic quarterback,” Moore told media. “We want him here. I’ve been having a great year with him, so that should speak volumes.”
He would then go on to talk about his feelings about Fields’ development as a player.
“The big thing, from Year 1 and 2, he made big strides is what I’m hearing and what I’m seeing out there with his passes, his decision making,” Moore said. “Year 3 is probably the most critical year. I know it was for me. I took the jump. I had whatever you want to say, and it was like that. For him, he’s young, so he’s gonna still continue to grow and be better.”
Moore’s opinion will surely be noted, but, ultimately, the Bears front office will do what they feel is best for the team and for the organization. What that decision is, however, remains to be seen.