Chicago Bears, you are on the clock. The Windy City football franchise is now in possession of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Bears finished their season with a 29-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Going into Sunday, the Bears were the No. 2 pick but would hop over the Houston Texans to take the leading pick after the Texans beat the Indianapolis Colts 32-31.
Now-fired Texans coach, Lovie Smith, addressed the decision to be competitive in the last game.
“This is an option that I had,” Smith said to ESPN. “So, you’re saying, ‘Hey guys, play in this last game, all that you’ve been working for your life, you play to win, forget that. Lose the game on purpose.’ Like, that will be a hard one to get by. They won’t expect me to say that. I didn’t. What we work on each week, our game plan, has been to win the game. It’s kind of simple as that. That’s what we follow through on the day.”
The Bears have the ability to trade down in the draft and receive more assets as they already have a quarterback while there are two high-profile prospects on the board. According to ESPN, this is the first time the Bears will have the first draft pick since the 1940s.
