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NFL offseason questions: a trade for No 1 and Russell Wilson’s future


Caleb Williams appears to be headed to the Chicago Bears.Photograph: MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News/Getty Images

Will the Bears trade the No 1 overall pick?

What the Bears do with the draft’s top pick is the hinge point of the offseason. They have three options:

They can take Caleb Williams, the top quarterback in the class, and trade Justin Fields

They can trade the pick and stick with Fields

They can draft Williams and keep Fields

From a team-building perspective, the third option makes sense. It gives the Bears two throws at the franchise quarterback dartboard, or at least for Williams to work in the background until he’s ready to supplant Fields as the starter. But once you include feelings, contracts and agents, it gets tricky. If Chicago select Williams, they will be operating on a new timeline, and will look to extract maximum value from Fields in a down year for available quarterbacks. If they punt on Williams in favor of a treasure trove of picks, they’ll be rooted firmly in win-now mode, with a Fields extension looming.

The decision will come quickly. We’re approaching the anniversary of Chicago dealing away last year’s top pick for a bevy of selections, including the pick that wound up being No 1 in this year’s class. Reports suggest if the Bears opt to go the Williams route, they would look to make a deal early, trading Fields before free agency opens on 13 March.

It’s hard to imagine the Bears trading out of the top spot two years in a row. There have been subtle signs of progress from Fields, but not enough to pass on Williams.

Where will the big-name free-agent running backs land?

We’re a year removed from the sky-is-falling discourse around running backs and their contracts. But we also just experienced a season in which running the ball was as valuable as it has been in recent seasons – and with Christian McCaffrey banging the drum for backs as the bedrock of a championship-caliber offense.

This year’s crop of free agents is a…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-offseason-questions-trade-no-090013652.html

Author : The Guardian

Publish date : 2024-02-29 09:00:13

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

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