The Worst Thing the Bears Could Do in this Draft
In 1999 Saints coach Mike Ditka decided he had to have running back Ricky Williams and found a way to get him.
Ditka traded away picks in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds that year to get the Washington Redskins' fifth pick in Round 1 and select Williams.
But wait, there's more.
The Redskins weren't done fleecing Ditka. They also received the Saints' first-round pick and third-round picks for the following year, all for a running back who really was pretty good when he wasn't smoking a joint.
The Saints had no other picks once they were done trading, and Ditka could simply go golfing for the rest of the draft while other teams picked through all the remaining talent.
There is a lesson in there for the Bears. It's not fun to be sitting around watching other teams on draft day is part of it. They should know this already after last year, when they had no pick in Rounds 1 due to the trade for Khalil Mack and none in Round 2 due to a trade the previous year with New England.
The main message for the Bears in all of this is it's foolish this year to trade up when you don't have picks in Round 3 and 4. In fact, it is without a doubt the one thing the Bears cannot do in this draft.
The Bears' third-round pick this year went to the Raiders as part of the Mack deal. Their fourth-round pick was sent to New England when they wanted to trade up in Round 3 last year and select running back David Montgomery.
So they are going from the 50th pick in Round 2 all the way to the 163rd pick in Round 5 without selecting anyone. They might as well Ditka it, go golfing. They can't even do that because the golf courses aren't allowed to open in Illinois due to the coronavirus.
Now, suppose the Bears found someone in Round 1 who wouldn't make it to them in Round 2 and decided they had to trade to move up and get that player. History as well as the Bears' own cache of draft picks this year says they would have to give up both of their second-round picks to do this, if not more. Remember, they're going up from No. 43 11 spots just to get into Round 1, and then however many more spots up they're moving. It costs a lot to move that far.
Imagine they did it, pulled it off and now what do they have? A first-round pick, and then nothing until Round 5, the 163rd pick overall. It might as well be what Ditka did. They really would be getting two picks for their 2020 draft class. Here's why.
After Round 5, the Bears have four draft picks, two in each of the final two rounds.
Since Ryan Pace became general manager, his sixth- and seventh-round draft picks have started six games total. All of them were by Javon Wims, and he has 20 career receptions.
No other sixth- or seventh-round picks have started a game. His other sixth-round draft picks were Duke Shelley, Kylie Fitts, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Tayo Fabuluje, Kerrith Whyte, Stephen Denmark and Daniel Braverman. In fact, the only one they've gotten any real contribution from was DHC on special teams.
So trading up makes this a two-player draft for the Bears.
That's almost Ricky Williams.
And that's just craziness.
