JUST NOW: Bears trade pitch flips No. 9 for first and second-round picks, with a $12.5 million edge.
The Chicago Bears confront one of the most intriguing decisions of draft day: what to do with the No. 9 overall pick.
So much depends on which players are available at that position — both in terms of who the Bears would draft and which clubs might be eager to deal with them and for how much. On Thursday, April 18, Bill Barnwell of ESPN investigated the most likely and certainly the most conservative scenario among the numerous potential early pyrotechnics around the 9th choice in issue.
Barnwell proposed a deal in which Chicago fips that selection to the New Orleans Saints in return for a first-rounder (No. 14), a second-rounder (No. 45) and edge rusher Payton Turner.
Turner was taken No. 28 overall by New Orleans three drafts ago from Houston, but he has since suffered from a string of injuries.
Turner has never played more than eight games in a single season and has only three sacks in his entire career. However, he has first-round pedigree and is only 25 years old.
His $12.5 million rookie contract runs through 2024, and he will earn less than $2.4 million in base salary in the upcoming season. That makes him a cheap option for Chicago to pair alongside Sweat on the other side of the defensive line and see what the former Houston product can do if he makes it through just one year relatively healthy.
During his final two collegiate seasons, the 6-foot, 5-inch, 270-pound Turner accumulated 8.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 17 games. If he can regain that form, Chicago may be able to re-sign him. If he doesn’t, he provides rotational depth at an essential position for the Bears, who can trade him next March.
If the Bears trade down with the Saints, they should have several good options in positions of need with the 14th pick.
More importantly for the Bears than the acquisition of Turner, though, is the addition of a pick in the middle of the second-round for moving back just five spots from No. 9 to No. 14 in the first.
If Chicago wants to draft an edge defender, Jared Verse of Florida State will probably be there with the 14th pick. If the team wants to go offensive tackle, a player like JC Latham of Alabama or Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State should be available.
One thing is almost certain: none of the top three wide receivers in the draft will fall that far down the board, and the Bears may be able to land a player like Rome Odunze if they stick firm and choose at No. 9. However, the addition of Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers for a fourth-round pick reduces Chicago’s need at wide receiver, which may modify the equation depending on how the dominoes fall in the first eight picks.
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