Beat reporter on what the Bears will do with the No. 9 pick
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This is a big week for the Chicago Bears and the rest of the league as the NFL draft kicks off on Thursday night in Kansas City and runs through Saturday.
The Bears no longer have the first overall pick, but instead will pick at No. 9. Bears beat reporter Herb Howard of The Bigs Media joined Sports Director Marshall Harris to talk about the possibilities for the Bears with that selection. He doesn't believe they have to take a lineman at that spot.
Howard: "Honestly, they can go anywhere they want. This is not a team that is a right tackle away from going to the Super Bowl. So if they choose to go best player available, if they want to go with a running back, if they want to go with a cornerback, or a wide receiver, that's fine too. All those positions are on the board for the Bears. I think this draft is wide open for Ryan Poles and the staff."
Harris: "Running back? You're trying to get the Bears in trouble. If they take a running back at No. 9 …"
Howard: "Listen."
Harris: "What would the reaction be?"
Howard: "If you think [University of Texas running back] Bijan Robinson is a generational back, if you think he is …"
Harris: "Adrian Peterson style."
Howard: "Yeah if you think he's that type of back, then I don't have a problem with you pulling the trigger on him. Everybody says he has all the measurables, all the things on the field, but he also checks all the boxes off the field as well. If you think he's that guy, go ahead and pull the trigger. I'm not saying they will, but I wouldn't have a problem with it if they did."
Harris: "Here's the interesting thing, they pick at No. 9. Then they don't pick again until No. 53 and there's a cluster of picks. Is it more likely that the Bears trade back from No. 9 or trade up from that second-round pick and try to get into maybe the late first round?"
Howard: "I say it's more likely that they move back to try to accumulate some more picks if they can get some picks in that huge space that you're talking about between picks nine and 53. So I think it's more likely that they trade back. If they do choose to move up and go against what Ryan Poles has done thus far in terms of stacking future assets, that player would be very, very intriguing. They would have to absolutely love that player. So I'd be very excited to see who the player is if they chose to move up from 53 and get maybe into the 40s or something like that. I think it'd be more likely that they'd move back from nine to the 15-17 range, get another pick in that second, third round area."
Harris: "We've been very clear. They need a lot of things in a lot of different areas, but what's at the top of your need board for the Bears right now?"
Howard: "I think defensive line still. I know they brought in some different pieces, but not frontline talent just yet. I think they still need absolute difference makers up front. You still need to figure out what you're going to do at three-technique. I know everybody is talking about [University of Georgia defensive tackle] Jalen Carter and whether you take him off your board or not. I don't know if the Bears have. They've certainly brought him back in for a visit. I don't think they would waste that if they were completely scratching him off their board. I also don't think he's going to be there, but that's another conversation. I think they have to get better in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but I would start with the defense. I would certainly go ahead and pull the trigger on Jalen Carter. I think if you look at his tape, the kid is an absolute monster. He's a difference maker from day one on your team. Now he does have the off-the-field questions and for me, it's not so much what happened on that tragic night when people lost their lives, but his inability to compartmentalize and to deal with what you're dealing with off the field, but also take care of business on the field. He came to his Pro Day overweight. He wasn't ready to compete and perform like he needed to and for me, that's a bigger issue than the off-the-field concerns. But on the field, his tape doesn't lack."
Harris added it was most intriguing to him where Carter lands in the draft. Remember, this was a guy who was talked about as a possible No. 1-overall pick before his legal troubles.