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'I like the numbers.' Why the Bears are increasingly excited about their draft options at No. 9.

Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune on

Published in Football

Consider this: Within 90 minutes of drafting Williams next month, Poles might be able to surround his shiny new toy at quarterback with, well, a shiny new toy at receiver? (More on LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze in a minute.)

Or what if the draft board breaks in a way in which one of this year’s best offensive tackles — namely Notre Dame’s Joe Alt or Penn State’s Olu Fashanu — is sitting there at No. 9?

Or what if Poles has his mind set on adding teeth to his pass rush with a prospect such as UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, Florida State’s Jared Verse or Alabama’s Dallas Turner?

Said Bears coach Matt Eberflus: “To me, it’s always about affecting the quarterback or helping the quarterback. It comes down to those two questions.”

And here’s one more: What if the high-quality depth of the first round also offers an opportunity to trade back from No. 9, allowing the Bears to collect more draft capital and still pick in the teens — or even before — at a spot at which the menu could include offensive linemen Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, Amarius Mims or Jackson Powers-Johnson? Or even tight end Brock Bowers? Defensive tackle Byron Murphy? Receiver Brian Thomas Jr.?

Without question, Poles will consider the idea of moving back.

 

“For sure,” he said this week. “That will kind of play out. We’ll see what the numbers look like and that will kind of dictate how far we can move back, if we decide to do that.”

Whatever the case, the Bears seem to be in a favorable situation.

Target practice

Nabers was nonchalant this month in tracing the roots of his relationship with Williams to their shared enjoyment of “Call of Duty.” Gamers gonna game, right?

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