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

Eberflus emphasized Tuesday that the Bears seem certain to get a “blue player” at No. 9, referencing the color code used to identify the highest level of impact players.

“What we’ve done in free agency allows us to be flexible, to really be able to take the best player, the one we feel fits for us in that spot,” he added.

Homework assignment

Poles said when he returns Monday to Halas Hall, he will break his personnel team into groups and give each of them an assignment to help the organization strategize for how to use the No. 9 pick.

“One team is going to (argue) how the tackle position is the best to go after,” Poles said. “(The others will argue) that wide receiver is the best, defensive end is the best. And we’ll use factual information to spit that out. Then we’ll have a debate in terms of what’s more impactful for our football team, short term and long term. I’m looking forward to that.”

For context, the Bears have made multiple selections in the first round only seven times during the Super Bowl era — and not since 2003 when then-general manager Jerry Angelo traded back from the No. 4 slot and eventually selected Michael Haynes at No. 14 and Rex Grossman at No. 22.

The 1979 draft registers as the only one during the Super Bowl era in which the Bears made two picks inside the top 10, grabbing defensive ends Dan Hampton and Al Harris at Nos. 4 and 9, respectively.

Fourteen years before that, of course, the organization hit on the duo of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers at No. 3 and 4 while also choosing Steve DeLong at No. 6.

So yes, the Bears have a chance to do something historic next month, something franchise-altering.

On the morning of April 26, Poles and Eberflus should wake up with two immediate starters to add to an already-improving team that should be aligning to be a legitimate playoff contender in 2024.

Just imagine the possibilities.