The NFL Draft has nearly arrived, and the Chicago Bears will be one of the most fascinating teams to follow on night one.
Since the Bears don't need a quarterback, they can afford to read the room and go for the player they think will give them the best shot at a playoff berth in 2025. And if they think they're in danger of losing that player, they could make a dramatic trade up the board.
The running game was fairly pathetic for the Bears this past season, and that was made all the worse by the fact that they'd just given Pro Bowl running back D'Andre Swift a three-year, $24 million contract to be their new starter.
On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox suggested that the Bears could move on from Swift in the sexiest way possible--trading up for Boise State's Ashton Jeanty in the first round.
In Knox's hypothetical proposal, Chicago would send Swift, the 10th overall pick, and the 72nd overall pick in this year's draft to the Las Vegas Raiders for the sixth overall pick, where Jeanty could be waiting.
"While Chicago might have a chance of seeing Jeanty fall to No. 10, moving up to secure him would be logical. Moving ahead of the New York Jets—who might favor Jeanty over Breece Hall, who is on an expiring contract—might be particularly sensible," Knox wrote.
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"The Bears part with... D'Andre Swift and a third-round pick to get their new offensive centerpiece. That would leave general manager Ryan Poles with two second-round picks (Nos. 39 and 41) for further maneuvering at the end of Round 1 or early on Day 2."
Jeanty, 21, could be a game-changer. He might not repeat his 2,601-yard, 29-touchdown rushing output against NFL competition, but he could be one of the few backs who completely changes the scope of a game.
It's not exactly a risk for Chicago to move off Swift, so if Las Vegas is willing to do this deal, it's hard to imagine why the Bears wouldn't pull the trigger.
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