Despite trading away the No. 1 overall pick in March, the Bears still need a franchise-altering haul in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday. It will be vital to the careers of general manager Ryan Poles, who is picking in Round 1 for the first time, and quarterback Justin Fields, who needs to prove himself in Year 3.
The Bears have many holes to fill and any number of directions they could take when they are on the clock to pick ninth. The Sun-Times’ Bears experts — Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser and Mark Potash — lay out what they would do if they were the ones making that call:
