The Chicago Bears have a talented receiver corps, they’ve invested in the trenches, and now all they need is a franchise running back.
That’s no secret to general manager Ryan Poles.
Reportedly, the Chicago GM tried to wheel and deal his way up in the second round to pick up a bellcow running back for the future.
According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Poles made not one, but two attempts to trade up in this year’s draft for Ohio State product TreVeyon Henderson.
The running back, coming off a national championship run, would be able to lend his speed and shiftiness to a Bears’ offense with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, and Rome Odunze.
The two failed trade-ups for TreVeyon Henderson
The Bears were at pick 39 in the second round. Wiederer reported that Chicago had a deal in place with the Tennessee Titans to move up to pick 35. The deal fell through when the Seattle Seahawks swooped in with a better offer.
Luckily for Poles, Seattle selected safety Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina, leaving Henderson on the board.
The Bears’ front office went back to work to try and move up, this time with the Patriots at pick number 38.
The deal reportedly had momentum, until the rug was pulled out from under Poles and his staff again.
At the last second, New England decided to take Henderson and pair him with Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield with Drake Maye.
“Ultimately we didn’t feel the value that was being offered to us was worth possibly losing out on TreVeyon,” Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said. “So we ended up sending the pick in.”
This left Chicago where they started, at pick 39, where they took wide receiver Luther Burden out of Missouri.
Burden is still a good weapon for Caleb Williams, but not the running back they wanted.
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What’s next for the Bears’ running back room?
Here’s a look at the running backs on Chicago’s roster after the draft:
- De’Andre Swift
- Roschon Johnson
- Kyle Monangai (rookie)
- Travis Homer
Other than Monangai, who was taken in the seventh round out of Rutgers, this RB room was the same last season when the Bears ranked 25th in rushing offense.
It’s still a glaring need for a team looking to make big strides as an offense in Caleb Williams’ second year in the league.
It’s tough for the Bears to accept that they were one pick away from potentially solving their running back crisis.
