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 to the Carolina Panthers for a package of picks — including this year’s No. 9 selection — and .
Will general manager Ryan Poles on draft night? Or will he stay put at No. 9 and look to ?
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.
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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: , LB, New Mexico
- 2016: , 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. .
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 , , , , and .
- , CB, Illinois, 1st round
- , 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
- , C, Minnesota/Homewood-Flossmoor, 2nd
- Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M/East St. Louis, 2nd-3rd
- Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa/Highland, Ill., 2nd-3rd
- , S, Illinois, 2nd-4th
- , 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
- , 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
- , QB, Purdue/Stevenson, 4th-7th
- Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern, 5th-7th
- , 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
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