Mel Kiper Says Bears’ GM Has Clear Path: Trade Justin Fields And Draft Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears’ quarterback situation really isn’t that complicated, according to ESPN’s longest tenure draft analyst. Mel Kiper says there’s a clear way for General Manager Ryan Poles to manage an attractive set of options: trade Justin Fields and then select Caleb Williams with the first overall pick.

Kiper made his pronouncement on the podcast “First Draft,” shortly after Williams had announced he is entering the draft rather than return to USC for a third season.

“If you trade Justin Fields to Atlanta, you could get the eighth pick overall,” Kiper said. “You could have (picks) 1, 8 and 9 and recoup (more high picks) by trading down with one of those picks. So (there’s) a lot of maneuverability for the Bears either way. But if it’s me, I’m taking Caleb Williams and trading Justin Fields.”

The Bears are in a highly enviable position with their own pick at nine and Carolina’s pick at one, which they acquired in the Panthers’ deal to move up for the first overall last year.

Poles wasn’t sold on Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud being upgrades on Fields and patiently played his cards by waiting on Williams, who generates comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. In two seasons at USC, he threw for 8170 yards and 72 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions.

Fields likely elevated the Bears’ return in a possible trade by playing well after returning from a dislocated right thumb that caused him to miss four weeks of the team’s 7-10 season. The Bears had started 1-5 but then won two of four games behind backup Tyson Bagent before going 4-3 down the stretch with Fields back in charge.

During that stretch, Fields accounted for 1781 yards of offense — 194 passing yards and 60 rushing yards per game. He delivered eight touchdowns and five turnovers, two of which were lost fumbles, while being sacked 20 times.

The 24-year-old will be in his fourth season in 2024, which means the Bears — or a team trading for him — would have until May 2 to extend his contract or exercise a fifth-year option that pay him almost $22 million in ’25, according to the website Over The Cap.

While the April 25 draft is considered unusually deep at quarterback — Kiper believes the top three picks will be Williams and fellow quarterbacks Drake Maye (North Carolina) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) — the supply of incoming quarterbacks falls short of meeting the need across the NFL. Impending free agents Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are also in the mix but at least 11 teams either have an immediate void or should be interested in exploring a possible upgrade.

The Bears (first overall pick), Commanders (second pick), Patriots (third pick), Falcons (eighth pick), Vikings (11th pick), Raiders (13th pick) and Buccaneers (26th pick) definitely need to resolve their quarterback situation in the off-season. The Cardinals (fourth pick), Giants (sixth pick), Broncos (12th pick) and Steelers (20th pick) could enter the picture if they are willing to abandon their investments in Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett, respectively.

In addition to Williams, Maye and Daniels, the upcoming draft class has three other intriguing quarterbacks — Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix. They could interest rebuilding teams but those looking to compete in 2024 will look to sign Cousins — and maybe Mayfield, who has rebuilt his market by leading Tampa Bay to the second round of the playoffs — or trade for a veteran.

Atlanta fits that mold but would be an absolute best-case scenario for the Bears to add a top-10 pick. It is arguable whether Fields’ value would stretch to even a low first-rounder — say the Bucs, at 26 — but Chicago General Manager Ryan Poles should find enough interest to land a second-rounder and a combination of additional picks or veteran players.

Kiper believes the path is clear for Poles. He sees Williams as clearly the best quarterback in this class, with Maye and Daniels next in line. It’s not clear, Kiper says in the podcast, which order Maye and Daniels will be taken but believes the demand for quarterbacks will put both of them ahead of the best available non-quarterbacks, including Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Poles is in the driver’s seat for a process that will impact the landscape across the NFL.