After sitting out the first round a year ago, the Chicago Bears are once again central players in this week’s NFL draft.
The Bears secured the No. 1 pick via their league-worst 3-14 record in 2022, then traded the top spot last month to the Carolina Panthers for a package of picks — including this year’s No. 9 selection — and wide receiver DJ Moore.
Will general manager Ryan Poles continue to wheel and deal on draft night? Or will he stay put at No. 9 and look to beef up the team’s offensive or defensive line?
Here’s a look at the important details of the draft, including how to watch on TV, when the Bears will be picking and who the top local prospects are.
Catch up on our draft coverage:
Who will the Bears select at No. 9? Brad Biggs’ NFL mock draft 2.0.
Q&A with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: ‘This should be an offensive-heavy draft’ for the Bears
When is the NFL draft?
It starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Where is it being held this year?
Outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.
How to watch
Live draft coverage will air on ABC-7, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network as well as the ESPN app. ABC and ESPN will have separate broadcasts the first two days and will simulcast Day 3 coverage.
Here’s the TV schedule:
Thursday (Round 1): 7 p.m.
Friday (Rounds 2-3): 6 p.m.
Saturday (Rounds 4-7): 11 a.m.
What time will the Bears pick?
Teams have 10 minutes to make first-round selections, so assuming the Bears don’t trade out of the No. 9 position, the latest their pick would have to be in is 8:30 p.m. However, teams typically average about eight minutes per first-round pick, so 8:12 might be a closer approximation of when the Bears will submit their selection.
Bears 2023 picks
Round 1, No. 9
Round 2, No. 53
Round 2, No. 61
Round 3, No. 64
Round 4, No. 103
Round 4, No. 133
Round 5, No. 136
Round 5, No. 148
Round 7, No. 218
Round 7, No. 258
Previous No. 9 picks by the Bears
1941: Don Scott, HB, Ohio State
1943: Bob Steuber, HB, Missouri
1944: Ray Evans, HB, Kansas
1979: Al Harris, DE, Arizona State
2000: Brian Urlacher, LB, New Mexico
2016: Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
How have the Bears fared in the draft lately?
Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs studied the last 21 Bears drafts dating to the start of Jerry Angelo’s tenure as GM to calculate batting averages for the franchise — by round, by position, by year and by general manager. Here’s how the Bears fared.
Local prospects to watch
Draft hopefuls from Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Illinois high schools, listed in projected draft order based on a consensus of seven-round mock drafts by The Athletic, CBS Sports, Draft Countdown, Drafttek, Pro Football Network and The Sporting News.
Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois, 1st round
Peter Skoronski, OL, Northwestern/Maine South, 1st
Lukas Van Ness, edge, Iowa/Barrington, 1st
Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame, 1st
Isaiah Foskey, edge, Notre Dame, 1st-3rd
Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL, Northwestern, 2nd
John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota/Homewood-Flossmoor, 2nd
Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M/East St. Louis, 2nd-3rd
Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa/Highland, Ill., 2nd-3rd
Quan Martin, S, Illinois, 2nd-4th
Sydney Brown, S, Illinois, 3rd-4th
Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State/Naperville Central/Metea Valley, 3rd-5th
Jarrett Patterson, OL, Notre Dame, 3rd-6th
Nick Broeker, OL, Mississippi/Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, 4th-6th
Chase Brown, RB, Illinois, 4th-6th
Brandon Joseph, S, Notre Dame, 4th-6th
Cameron Mitchell, CB, Northwestern/Bolingbrook, 4th-7th
Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue/Deerfield, 4th-7th
Aidan O’Connell, QB, Purdue/Stevenson, 4th-7th
Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern, 5th-7th
Jahleel Billingsley, TE, Texas/Phillips, 6th-UFA
Tommy DeVito, QB, Illinois, 7th-UFA
Calvin Avery, DL, Illinois, 7th-UFA
Jason Lewan, edge, Illinois State/Yorkville, 7th-UFA
Mariano Sori-Marin, LB, Minnesota/Providence, UFA
Xazavian Valladay, RB, Arizona State/Brother Rice, UFA
Dalton Wagner, OL, Arkansas/Richmond-Burton, UFA
