The Bears don't have a first-round pick in this year's draft, having packaged it to trade up for quarterback Justin Fields last year. But they'll be in position to add key building blocks on Day 2, with two picks in the second round and one in the third.
"I'm excited about it," general manager Ryan Poles said this week at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach. Fla. "It puts us in range of really good players. And at the same time, that also allows us to maneuver a little bit. We don't have a ton of picks, so if there is a way to create more, we'll be open to that."
The Bears have six picks in the draft: They'll select seventh in Rounds 2, 3, 5 and 6 based on last season's 6-11 record. They obtained additional choices in the second and fifth rounds as part of trades with the Chargers for outside linebacker Khalil Mack this year and Texans for receiver Anthony Miller last year, respectively.
The Bears traded their first- and fourth-round picks to the Giants last April to move up nine spots in the first round to take Fields at No. 11. They also sent their seventh-round selection to the Texans in the Miller deal.
The Bears' Day 2 choices are No. 39 and 48 (from the Chargers) in the second round and No. 71 in the third. They're slated to pick a player at No. 39 for the fourth time in the last eight drafts. Previous No. 39 selections have included nose tackle Eddie Goldman (2015) and offensive linemen James Daniels (2018) and Teven Jenkins (2021). Safety Mike Brown also was chosen by the Bears at No. 39 in 2000.
Seven of the last 10 players picked at No. 39 became regular starters as rookies: Dolphins guard Robert Hunt (2020), Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (2019), Daniels (2018), Jets safety Marcus Maye (2017), Goldman (2015), Jets quarterback Geno Smith (2013) and Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (2012).
Prospects selected at No 48 over the last decade include running back Le'Veon Bell by the Steelers (2013), linebacker Denzel Perryman by the Chargers (2015), running back Joe Mixon by the Bengals (2017) and center Erik McCoy (2019) by the Saints.
Players taken at No. 71 include safety T.J. McDonald by the Rams (2013), linebacker Christian Kirksey by the Browns (2014) and center/guard Dan Feeney by the Chargers (2017).
