The NFL draft is one week away and it's unclear what the Chicago Bears plan to do with the No. 9 pick in the draft.
Most prognosticate they'll stick to the smart, conservative options by drafting to either the offensive or defensive line. Some, however, have heard rumblings about the Bears taking a bigger swing at the plate.
"Somebody told me don't sleep on Bijan [Robinson] with them either way," NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah said to Peter Schrager on his podcast The Season.
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Robinson is projected, not only to be one of the draft's best players, but immediately one of the better running backs in the NFL. He played three years at Texas, where he racked up over 3,400 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns in three seasons.
He stands 6 feet tall and weighs 215 pounds. Robinson ran a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, too, displaying his excellent speed combined with his all-around skillset.
The Bears are no stranger to the run game, either.
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They produced the most prolific rushing offense in the league last season. As a collective, they ran for over 3,000 yards on their way to breaking a franchise record for team rushing yards and carrying the most in the NFL in 2022.
This offseason, however, they lost David Montgomery, their lockdown starter for the past four years. He signed a three-year deal with the Detroit Lions in free agency.
The Bears did bring in D'Onta Foreman and Travis Homer to pair with Khalil Herbert, their standout third-year running back who rushed for 731 yards handcuffed to Montgomery last season. They've mostly solidified their running back room.
Hence, Jeremiah doesn't predict the Bears will take such a dramatic swing in the draft for Robinson. But he does have them staving off the trenches with the No. 9 pick.
"This team last year, by the way, defensively last in points per game, third downs and sacks," Jeremiah said. "They're the worst. They're terrible at rushing the passer. I might just go and say they're gonna try to get a big, clear player and I'll give them a corner. I'll give them [Christian] Gonzales."
Christian Gonzales is a large, 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback out of Oregon. He has terrific size and physicality and is projected to be one of the first corners off the board in next week's draft.
The Bears need another corner, specifically a nickel corner, to pair with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Taking a premier player like Gonzales would nail down their secondary.
But it's much too irresponsible, in my opinion.
Ryan Poles and the front office have gaps to fill everywhere, but none more glaring than the offensive and defensive line. As Jeremiah mentioned, their pass rush was abysmal, one of the league's worst.
Their offensive line was no better. They contributed to Justin Fields becoming the most sacked quarterback in the league last year, taken down 55 times.
The Bears have been an everlastingly faulty team from the trenches; Poles, once an offensive lineman himself, should put a stop to it early in the draft.