One of the biggest decisions in franchise history awaits Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. He can use the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft to select a quarterback, or he can do what he did last year and trade it for a boatload of more picks.
In his first mock draft of the year, Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic crafted a trade scenario in which the Bears send the No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Falcons. In exchange, Chicago would receive the No. 8 and 43 overall picks in the upcoming draft, along with a future first-round pick and a future second-round pick. Poles might want more than that for No. 1 overall, but let’s roll with Baumgardner here.
With the Falcons’ pick from that trade, Baumgardner has Chicago landing Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman at No. 8. With their own pick at No. 9, Baumgardner has them selecting former Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner with the No. 9 overall pick.
Poles made one of the best moves of his two-year tenure when he traded a second-round pick for edge rusher Montez Sweat this year. Sweat’s impact was undeniable. Prior to his arrival (he played his first game with the Bears Week 9), the defense had a total of 10 sacks. After adding him on the edge, Chicago amassed 20 sacks over its final nine games.
In 14 games this season, Turner had 11.0 sacks, 11 QB hits and 33 hurries, with a pass rush win-rate of 19.6%, according to PFF. He had 25.0 sacks over his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Adding a player with the skillset of the 6-foot-4, 242-pound Turner opposite Sweat on the other side would give the Bears an incredibly fearsome defensive line. In Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense, Turner would do exactly what he did the vast majority of the time at Alabama: line up against the outside tackle on the edge.
The scouting department at Bleacher Report had this to say about Turner:
“Turner might be the best pure athlete in this year’s edge class. He has a good get-off and is a smooth-mover when working laterally. Not to mention his speed, which allows him to close on quarterbacks and make hustle plays down the field with chase-down tackles.”
