The Chicago Bears will be using this upcoming NFL draft to make themselves a better team. Duh. Obviously. That’s EVERY team’s goal in the draft.
However, a secondary goal for teams is to find ways to block divisional rivals from becoming better teams.
That second part of the draft day objective could be in play when it comes to the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings this year.
The Vikings are one of several teams said to be hungry for quarterback talent after losing Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons via free agency this offseason. However, at no. 11 in the first round of the draft, it’s likely that none of the top quarterback prospects could be available by the time they pick.
That’s why the Vikings are among the favorites to trade up on draft day, especially given the fact that they now have a second pick in the first round (no. 23), via their trade with the Houston Texans.
And that’s where the Bears could ruin their division rival’s plans.
How The Chicago Bears Could Draft-Block The Minnesota Vikings
Chicago is expected to change the franchise’s fortunes by selecting USC’s Caleb Williams with their overall no. 1 pick in the first round, but they could certainly do some wheeling and dealing with their second first-round pick at no. 9. A deal with a quarterback-hungry team behind the Vikings would be especially likely if a top quarterback prospect is still on the board when the ninth pick comes around.
Jake Tansey of Bleacher Report recently proposed a trade that would involve the Bears trading back from no. 9 with either the Denver Broncos (No. 12) or Las Vegas Raider (No. 13). That would effectively take the Vikings out of the running for a top quarterback unless they were somehow able to trade up and get a no. 2 through no. 8 pick, something which is not all that likely.
“The rush to land the fourth-best quarterback in the draft could still be on at No. 9 if the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders fail to move up. Chicago will not do any business with the Vikings, especially if it helps them land their replacement for Kirk Cousins,” Tansey wrote. “That leaves Denver and Las Vegas as the primary options to trade with if the fourth quarterback, likely J.J. McCarthy, is still on the board at No. 9.”
Vikings Do Have a Contingency Plan, Though
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has already intimated that the ultimate goal in trading for another first-round pick is to possibly trade up, but he’s also said that he’d be willing to sit back, fill some roster holes in the draft, and ride with free agent quarterback acquisition Sam Darnold this season.
“If the opportunity comes where that player’s available,” Adofo-Mensah told ESPN, “we’ll take it. If it’s not available in that sense, we’ll continue to build around and then find potential odds at a long-term solution, in addition to what we’ve already brought in with Sam and anybody else we require. So really, the answer isn’t some strict thing. And part of that is the flexibility we’ve wanted to put into our plan for these past couple years.”
Chicago, meanwhile, has only four selections in this upcoming draft and could definitely be looking to trade back for some draft capital. A deal with the Broncos or Raiders, for example, would only knock them down three or four spots in the draft and might bring them a second-round pick and/or a solid Day 2 selection.
Plus, of course, they’d be sticking it to the Vikings by possibly taking a quarterback from their clutches. That’s a win-win if you’re the Bears.