Chicago Bears contingency plans for 6 wild NFL Draft curveballs

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Mike Tyson wasn’t talking about the NFL Draft when he dropped his best quote ever—actually, it's one of the best sports quotes ever, period—but his bon motes can certainly apply to pro football’s springtime crown jewel.

Your typical NFL front office spends thousands upon thousands of man-hours drawing up a draft roadmap, but if the rest of the league doesn’t cooperate—if, say, the freakin’ Browns, the freakin’ Raiders, the freakin’ Pats, and the freakin’ Saints each unexpectedly Hoover up all the top O-lineman—well, you’ve been punched in the mouth, and there goes your plan.

Fortunately, your typical NFL front office also spends hundreds upon hundreds of man-hours drawing up contingency roadmaps. Because on Draft Night, anything can happen, and it always does.

If weird things do indeed come to pass before the Chicago Bears are on the clock at the ten-spot (and they will), here are some directions GM Ryan Poles might zig when the rest of the league previously zagged:

1) What If…Tetairoa McMillan Is Available?

In the 2024, the Bears used the ninth selection in the NFL Draft to snatch up wide receiver Rome Odunze, so why would they even consider selecting another pass catcher in the first round just one year later?

Simple: Money.

It’s feeling more and more like the Bears' 2024 WR2 Keenan Allen, an unrestricted free agent, won’t be retained, and the free agent wide receiver pool isn’t particularly exciting or financially advantageous (Stefon Diggs at $13.5 million? Amari Cooper at $14.2 million? No thanks.), so if Poles can get Arizona's McMillan, the draft’s highest-rated receiver—who’d be on a rookie contract for four years—do it, and figure out the trenches later.

2) What If…One of the Top Quarterbacks Falls to Ten?

Miami QB Cam Ward won’t make it past the six-spot. Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders might.

Sanders—who decided to both skip throwing at the Combine and attending the draft itself—is an undeniable talent, but he has a few holes in his game (i.e., periodic issues with decision making, accuracy, and overconfidence), and in a more quarterback-rich draft, a second-round projection wouldn’t be unreasonable.

That all being the case, if Baby Prime is around when the Bears are up, they should open up the phone lines and get wheeling and/or dealing. The Giants or Raiders could offer up their 2025 second round pick in addition to a 2026 first. Pittsburgh could package their 2025 first (21) and third (83) with their 2026 first. Maybe Poles can cobble together a deal with Cleveland that will net his team Myles Garrett.

If Sanders remains on the board at ten, it will be football negligence if Chicago doesn’t make a major transaction.

3) What If…Mason Graham Slips?

With Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter Sr. in the building, defensive tackle isn’t Chicago's biggest need on that side of the ball—the EDGE position is way more of an issue—but after Penn State's Abdul Carter, former Michigan Wolverine Graham is the draft class’ second-best defensive option.

In theory, Chicago should draft for need, but when the best player available is one of the best players in the draft, you can rip your draft sheet into teeny-tiny pieces.

4) What If…They Receive an Offer to Trade Out of the First Round

If a team is going to sacrifice their first-rounder—and a top-ten first-rounder at that—they’d better get back multiple seconds. Thing is, there’s only one team in the NFL who owns more than one second-round pick…and that would be the Chicago Bears.

Unless there’s a top-shelf young starter offered in the deal, Poles should hang up the phone and grab his dream offensive lineman.

5) What If…Ashton Jeanty Is Available?

There’s no wrong answer to this one.

If Chicago picks the star Boise State running back, they’ve landed the best playmaker in the draft. (Sorry, Cam Ward, but you know that’s the truth.) If they swap spots with the Dallas Cowboys who pick at 12—a team that’s made no secret of their love for Jeanty—and pick up a third-rounder in the process, well, that works too.

6) What If…The Top Two Offensive Linemen Are Both Around?

As of late, most pundits have theorized that LSU's Will Campbell will be off the board at ten, while Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. will be around and available for the pickin’. But if Campbell falls, Poles will have some thinking to do.

This is where Ben Johnson comes in.

The new head coach has to decide which will be a more logical option for his game plan, whether he prefers Campbell’s strength over Banks’ speed.

Poles will likely be happy to turn this choice over to Big Ben. Because nobody wants to get punched in the mouth.