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If the season were to end today, the Chicago Bears would head into the 2017 NFL Draft with the #4 overall pick.
You’d have to go back to 2005 to find the last time they picked that early, which was the year they controversially picked Texas running back Cedric Benson with the #4 overall selection.
And before that? 1979 with Dan Hampton, and 1975 with Walter Payton.
Currently, the draft order sits as follows:
| # | Team | Rec. | Rec. % | SoS % |
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | 0-12 | 0.000 | 0.548 |
| 2 | San Francisco 49ers | 1-11 | 0.083 | 0.519 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2-10 | 0.167 | 0.537 |
| 4 | Chicago Bears | 3-9 | 0.250 | 0.511 |
| 5 | New York Jets | 3-8 | 0.273 | 0.511 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams (pick belongs to Titans) | 4-8 | 0.333 | 0.497 |
| 7 | Carolina Panthers | 4-8 | 0.333 | 0.529 |
| 8 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4-7-1 | 0.364 | 0.516 |
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 5-7 | 0.417 | 0.537 |
| 10 | San Diego Chargers | 5-7 | 0.417 | 0.539 |
| 11 | Philadelphia Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) | 5-7 | 0.417 | 0.564 |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals | 5-6-1 | 0.455 | 0.463 |
| 13 | Indianapolis Colts | 5-6 | 0.455 | 0.487 |
| 14 | Tennessee Titans | 6-6 | 0.500 | 0.463 |
| 15 | Buffalo Bills | 6-6 | 0.500 | 0.471 |
| 16 | Minnesota Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) | 6-6 | 0.500 | 0.487 |
| 17 | Green Bay Packers | 6-6 | 0.500 | 0.519 |
| 18 | Washington | 6-5-1 | 0.545 | 0.516 |
| 19 | Miami Dolphins | 7-5 | 0.583 | 0.455 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-5 | 0.583 | 0.492 |
We know that the Bears are likely (but not guaranteed) to have a transition at the quarterback position after 2016, and right now it’s anyone’s guess as to what they do.
They could pull off another trade similar to the 2009 trade for Jay Cutler, with the team going after a high profile player currently in the league; or, they could look at the free agents that will be available in 2017 (LIST HERE).
Or another option is looking to the 2017 NFL Draft.
If the Bears get a top-5 pick, they will likely have a shot at DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame, and Walter Football thinks they would pull the trigger.
The Jay Cutler era will officially be over when the Bears select a quarterback in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. You could argue that it's already over in the wake of Cutler's torn labrum. Either way, Chicago will be hunting for a new signal-caller, and if it can't land Tony Romo, it'll certainly consider DeShone Kizer at this juncture.
As mentioned earlier, some teams view Kizer as the top quarterback in this class, and they had him rated higher than Deshaun Watson and Brad Kaaya prior to those two struggling. They liked Kizer because of his arm strength, mobility and upside.
The 2017 NFL Draft will be a doozie for the Chicago Bears... Stay tuned.