Bears Rumors: Trade Back from No. 9 Being Explored in 2024 NFL Draft amid Odunze Buzz

The Chicago Bears have two top-10 picks in Thursday's NFL draft, but they could look to change that.

Draft expert Todd McShay made an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast (34:50 mark) and said, "I'm hearing Chicago at No. 9 wants to bail out."

The Bears have the Nos. 1 and 9 picks in the draft and have been connected to Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze at times throughout the predraft process. While it is widely assumed they will select USC quarterback Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports cited NFL sources who said the belief is they will take a wide receiver or pass-rusher at No. 9.

There are logical arguments to be made for Chicago trading back from No. 9 and also using the pick on a wide receiver or offensive lineman.

After all, Williams is presumably going to be the franchise quarterback for years to come. Adding a wide receiver like Odunze or an offensive lineman would better set him up for immediate success.

What's more, Keenan Allen, whom the Bears traded for this offseason, is under contract for just one more season.

The NFC North team may need to replace him after just one year, and someone like Odunze could be a third option as a rookie with Allen and DJ Moore and then elevate to the No. 2 spot as soon as his second season.

Yet the Bears also have just two picks for the rest of the draft after No. 9. Those picks are in the third and fourth rounds, so they will not have the opportunity to add many rookies to their roster this offseason.

Unless, of course, they trade down and accumulate more picks.

Doing so would allow general manager Ryan Poles the opportunity to address more areas of need as he looks to build a long-term contender in Chicago. While expectations are now fairly high in the Windy City given some of his recent moves, this is still a franchise that hasn't finished with a winning record since 2018.

There are multiple areas of need, and trading down could help fix that.