The Chicago Bears have a very important offseason ahead of them. This will be the first chance for Ryan Poles to really make some splash additions to the roster as they are lapping the field in available cap space and also own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Adding premium talent to the roster will be an attainable feat for the Bears and they have plenty of holes to fill on the roster. The pass rush was anemic in 2022 and they need to upgrade the weapons around quarterback Justin Fields offensively.
One way for the Bears to address all of those needs is by trading out of the No. 1 spot in the draft. They can demand a king’s ransom from a team looking to jump ahead of the Houston Texans, who select No. 2 and are widely projected to take a quarterback.
Trading out of the No. 1 overall pick would present the Bears with a chance to land multiple premium assets. As a follow-up move to that, they should then call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and see if Mike Evans is available for a trade.
Evans is the exact kind of player that Chicago should be looking to add to their roster to help Fields’ development. He is a bona fide, true No. 1, something that the Bears are lacking with Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool atop the depth chart.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft just wrapped up his ninth season in the league. In all nine seasons, Evans has surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau. He is a matchup nightmare on the perimeter given his size and would provide Fields with an elite red zone weapon.
It won’t be cheap to land him, and Evans may not even be available. But, set to hit free agency in 2024 and with the Buccaneers staring down a potential rebuild with Tom Brady announcing his retirement, plans could change when it comes to Evans.
The Bears should make an aggressive offer, especially if they move down in the 2023 NFL Draft. Offering the fourth-round pick they received in the Robert Quinn trade from the Philadelphia Eagles along with a 2024 first-round pick is a good starting spot. A conditional third, that could become a second-rounder, in 2024 depending on performance, should be enough to pique the Buccaneers’ interest.
Trading away that kind of draft capital in a rebuild would normally be seen as malpractice. But, if the Bears can land multiple picks by moving back from the No. 1 spot this season, they should repackage some of those assets and make a push for Evans.
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