Bears best trade partner for No. 1 pick already revealing itself

The Bears could get a haul for the No. 1 pick with at least one clear team already sounding like they’d be willing to give anything to trade up.

Thanks to a hilarious end to the season for the Texans, the Chicago Bears have the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The world is their proverbial oyster.

Since Chicago doesn’t need a quarterback, they’re in a prime position to cash in that top selection by trading it to a team desperate enough to pay the price for the top QB on the board.

What team would fit that description: The Indianapolis Colts.

Bears could have a trade partner for No. 1 pick in the Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard, who is lucky to have a job after his handling of the midseason Frank Reich firing, has made it clear that Indianapolis will be in play for the No. 1 pick.

“Yes. I’d do whatever it takes,” Ballard told reporters when asked if he’d trade up to get a quarterback worthy of the No. 1 pick.

That answer doesn’t mean the Colts will definitely want to trade up. It’s dependent on their being a quarterback they deem worthy.

It’s early in the draft process, but Bryce Young certainly looks like that level of prospect.

The last time the No. 1 pick was traded was in 2016. The Rams gave up their No. 15 pick and their 2017 first-rounder, plus two second-rounders and two third-rounders for the right to draft Jared Goff

Indianapolis has the No. 4 pick for 2023, so in theory they might not have to give up that much to move up. In 2004, the Giants gave up their No. 4 pick and the next year’s first-rounder with a third- and fifth-rounder to get Eli Manning.

The best-case scenario for Chicago is for Young to look so impressive in draft prep that the Texans, Colts and maybe others create a lucrative bidding war for the pick.