The Chicago Bears have the no. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft on April 25. You’ve surely been made aware of that fact many, many times over the last few days, weeks, months.

You’re also probably quite aware of the fact that the overwhelming consensus opinion among media experts and analysts is that Chicago will be selecting USC blue-chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams with that privileged draft pick.

You’re probably aware that the Bears have the overall no. 9 pick in the draft as well and that a good chunk of media believes that general manager Ryan Poles may trade that pick, moving back for the sake of acquiring additional trade capital.

That, right there, is where all the “what’s gonna happen” draft intrigue happens to be when it comes to the Monsters of the Midway right now.

What Will The Chicago Bears Do With Their No. 9 Pick?

There’ve been countless rumors and trade proposals concerning that no. 9 pick and, as the draft approaches, more and more seem to be springing from the creative recesses of football media.

One of the latest is an interesting one involving the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, coming from the desk of NFL.com editor Tom Blair.

A Deal With The Kansas City Chiefs?

In Blair’s scenario, a Chiefs front office, looking for the successor of tight end Travis Kelce, get aggressive and approach the Bears with a deal that would move them up twenty-three spots in the draft and give them a shot at grabbing Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

In return for the massive cut to (near enough) the front of the line, Kansas City would send the Bears their own first-round pick (no. 32), their second-round pick (no. 64), their fourth-round pick (no. 131), and their 2025 first-round pick.

Per Blair:

“In this scenario, Chicago walks away with more chances to add help and depth on Days 2 and 3 while preserving its ability to scoop up an impact pass-rusher or (especially in this draft) pass-catcher at No. 32…I know this is exactly the kind of savvy, value-forward thinking I’m telling the Chiefs to move away from above, but these teams are on different timelines, which is what makes this a win-win proposition.

“This move gives [Poles] a few more bites at that apple. Plus, the Bears would get to head into yet another draft with two first-round picks, providing them with added roster-building flexibility in Year 2 of their new QB’s career.”

The Good of the Deal

If such a deal were made, the Bears would still, technically, have two first-round picks this year and they’d recoup second and fourth-round picks this year that were traded away in deals for Montez Sweat and Keenan Allen, respectively. Plus, they’d be heading into next year’s draft with two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

The Bad of the Deal

On paper, that looks tempting. In this present-tense real world, however, it’s probably not a trade the Bears would want to (or need to) make.

Bears Digest writer Gene Chamberlain ripped Blair’s “win-win” trade idea with extreme prejudice.

“This is what happens when there is too much time to analyze these things,” Chamberlain wrote in his reaction piece. “By the last week before the draft, it’s people making things up because they’ve been looking at the entire thing far too long.”

Also, per Chamberlain:

“…They’re not only trading out of the top 10 but also nearly going out of the first round. The second-round pick is only one from being a third-rounder.

…Making a trade back all the way to the back of the first and second rounds really diminishes the talent level of the prospect they can draft…

Beyond this, the Bears are not the team they were last year. They are not a building team in drastic need of adding talent anywhere they can. They’ve established some positions of strength and the need now is more for players drafted to develop and free agents to work together in the system to become better.

They’re not in mode where they need to scramble around scooping up draft picks.

They can really stand to add a few top-end talents this year, whether it’s Rome Odunze or trading back just a few spots for a pick later and still getting one of the top three or four defensive players in the draft.”

The reality is that having two first-round draft picks inside the top 10 is a very rare privilege. And when one of those picks is the overall no. 1, it becomes almost a once-in-a-franchise opportunity. The Bears would have to be mildly insane to even consider something that takes them so far back.

But, hey, this is the NFL. Strange things happen. Plus, it’s always fun to speculate.