The Chicago Bears made a splash when they traded the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers ahead of free agency.
General manager Ryan Poles turned the first overall pick into two first-rounders, two second-rounders and acquired wide receiver DJ Moore in the process. And Poles might not be done.
According to EJ Snyder of the Bootleg Football Podcast, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had conversations with the Bears about trading for the No. 9 pick.
“Bears and Steelers are possible. They’ve talked about it. I know they’ve talked about it,” Snyder said. “It’s by no means for sure. … The most likely connect the dots moment is that Pittsburgh needs and a tackle and they go up for one because there’s one they like and they’ll be gone by the time they pick at 17.”
There was a previous report that Chicago is “open for business” when it came to trading for the ninth overall pick. Perhaps they could find a trade partner in the Steelers, who have needs at offensive tackle and cornerback.
While Chicago could certainly hear from a quarterback-needy team if one of the top quarterbacks falls at No. 9, there could be other teams looking to trade inside the top 10 to land a top prospect at another premium position. In this case, that could be offensive tackle or cornerback.
As for the price of Pittsburgh moving from No. 17 to No. 9, it would cost their 17th pick and another high-value selection. Most likely, the 32nd overall pick that originally belonged to the Bears before they traded it to the Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool last November.
