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Proposed Chicago Bears Draft Trade One Month Out Has Realistic Look

The idea of the Bears trading back for an extra pick while still getting a first-round safety is one entirely realistic based on what GM Ryan Poles has done in the past.
Gene Chamberlain|
Safety Dillon Thieneman closes in on Oklahoma State receiver Christian Fitzpatrick. Thieneman's impressive combine could make him a draft target of teams needing safeties, like the Bears.
Safety Dillon Thieneman closes in on Oklahoma State receiver Christian Fitzpatrick. Thieneman's impressive combine could make him a draft target of teams needing safeties, like the Bears. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Mock draft season goes through phases and one month out from the start to the draft is a time when many mocks become multidimensional.

In other words, they not only pick the most likely players for the Bears and other teams to draft but also who will make trades in Round 1.

Trading is one thing GM Ryan Poles seems to count as an overall strength after a rocky start and it's what veteran NFL draft analyst Chad Reuter sees the Bears doing at pick No. 25 while still coming up with a player they need to start immediately.

The Bears make one of four first-round deals Reuter projects for Round 1, a situation entirely within the scope of reality based on past Poles drafts. They make the move back for an extra Day 2 pick and then at No. 30 select Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, indeed a fortuitous situation.

There's probably no way Thieneman lasts to No. 30 after running a  4.35 in the combine 40 and a season when he was graded seventh among 914 safeties and eighth in coverage by Pro Football Focus. However, it is a need and the trade checks out for realism on the Drafttek value chart.

The Bears receive the first-round and third-round pick the Dolphins  acquired in the real world from the Broncos in trading Jaylen Waddle while the Dolphins took the 25th pick.

Denver had sent a first, a third and a fourth to the Dolphins for Waddle. The third-round pick equates to about 155 points on the value chart and moving back five spots for the Bears would be worth 100 points. So, the Bears could need to put up an extra later pick if they made this trade back in the real world.

Why it all makes total sense

If reality followed Reuter's mock, the Bears could actually be interested in this because the best defensive end options and defensive tackle options are gone but both Thieneman and Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are still available to them. Moving back five spots while knowing they could get either one looks like a smart move if it means more available picks on Day 2.  

There would be numerous defensive line options available in Round 2 at either need position, and with an extra third they could easily use it to move into higher position in the second round for one they have targeted.

From the other end, it looks like a smart move because the Dolphins are doing it in order to replace Waddle with a dynamic wide receiver in KC Concepcion, who won't cost them nearly as much cap space as Waddle would.

Poles has shown he's willing to move back in first rounds. Obviously there was the big trade in the 2023 draft when he moved back from No. 1 and reaped DJ Moore and picks needed for Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Tory Taylor, Tyrique Stevenson, and Luther Burden. He moved back a spot for a fourth-round pick in 2023 and took Wright rather than draft Jalen Carter. 

The Bears choose to make the mock trade back with tackles Kadyn Proctor and Caleb Lomu, defensive tackle Lee Hunter, and defensive end Cashius Howell available to them. None of those players leap out as better options for them than one of the draft's top three safeties.

Give the mock trade and pick high marks for realism. They'd have a starting safety hole filled through yet another Poles first-round maneuver.

The only problem with this whole idea is the idea they'd gamble with a chance to take Thieneman. If they have McNeil-Warren graded close to Thieneman, it would make sense. Otherwise, there would be no trade and the Oregon safety would be drafted to become a Bears starter.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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