Why Bears' 2020 NFL Draft plans shouldn't involve a big trade

If they could, should the Bears trade for Odell Beckham Jr.?

That was the question posed by our guy David Kaplan on "SportsTalk Live" last week. Kap said if it took a second round pick plus something else, so be it, the Bears should get OBJ. I completely disagreed. 

You can watch the clip on top of this article. But I don't want to rehash what I said (or yelled) from my kitchen on TV last week. The Bears aren't trading for Beckham, who almost certainly isn't getting traded by the Cleveland Browns this week anyway. 

[MOCK DRAFT: NBC Sports Chicago makes the picks, 1-50]

And as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero brought up, it might be difficult to envision *any* player-for-pick(s) trade happening this week:

But it does lead me to a bigger discussion here: Should the Bears, if they can, make an aggressive trade for a player using draft picks?

ESPN's Field Yates threw out five guys who could be traded this week:

The names here aren't as important as the thought behind trading for one them. Would Trent Williams be an upgrade at tackle? Of course. Could landing Jamal Adams give the Bears the best safety pairing in NFL history with Eddie Jackson? It could! 

But the Bears probably don't have the draft capital, at least in 2020, to swing a trade for a legitimate star like Williams or Adams. And under no circumstances should Ryan Pace trade 2021's first round draft pick. Not when it may have to be used on a quarterback. 

Even this year's two second round picks shouldn't be dealt to acquire someone. The Bears saw last year how sub-par depth, mostly on offense, can lead to a downward spiral. They could've used one of Riley Ridley, Duke Shelley, Kerrith Whyte Jr. and Stephen Denmark to contribute; instead, they got little from those four players. It's not *the* reason the Bears went 8-8, but it was a sneaky undercurrent to 2019's disappointment. 

If the Bears are going to do anything with those two second round picks, trading down makes the most sense. Not trading up, not trading for a player, but trading down to accumulate more picks and help depth across the board. Pace already sent a 2020 fourth round pick to the New England Patriots last year so he could draft David Montgomery and sent a fourth-round comp pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Nick Foles last month. 

Could the Bears use more top-end talent? Sure. Most teams in the NFL could. But good depth — the guys on the margins of rosters — is often the difference between making the playoffs and going 8-8. Getting two or three guys who can either start or provide depth is what the Bears need out of this draft, not sacrificing picks for a high-priced player. 

[MORE: Adam Hoge's QB rankings]

One guy I might listen on, though, is Fournette — but only if he could be pried from Jacksonville for a sixth round pick. If Jordan Howard was dealt for a conditional fifth/sixth round pick (it wound up being a sixth rounder) and cost about half as much as Fournette, then trading a sixth/seventh rounder for Fournette would be fine. Fournette did have over 1,000 yards last year, and if he's willing to share time with Montgomery, he could be a nice addition on the cheap. 

But that's the sort of deal I'd at least entertain here. Not a big splash move. The Bears already did one of those when they traded for Mack two years ago. Getting cheap, good talent through the draft will be far more beneficial to the Bears' 2020 success than anything else. 

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of the Bears.

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: