NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah on the 2023 NFL Draft and the Chicago Bears

The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah recently held a press conference to talk about the 2023 NFL Draft, and in the more than 75-minute Q&A media session, he touched on several topics, including the Chicago Bears.

You can check out the entire transcript here and listen to the audio here, but I wanted to highlight his Chicago-centric nuggets from the presser.

Jeremiah was a proponent of Chicago general manager Ryan Poles trading back from the first overall selection long before he swung the deal with the Panthers to drop to nine overall. He always thought it made the most sense for the franchise to trade back further than the Texans (2) or Colts (4), the two teams that seemed to have the most buzz surrounding a potential trade.

Jeremiah was asked: “In the five-plus weeks that have ensued, as this quarterback class has shaken out, is that pick any more available today? In other words, would Ryan Poles have been better off waiting? What’s your analysis of the timing of it now?”

DANIEL JEREMIAH: Well, look, you never know how it’s going to shake out once everybody does all their homework and gets to the finish line on the quarterback evaluations.

I would say that it feels like, and the teams I’ve talked to, there’s a clear-cut No. 1. When that happens, you end up getting a pretty good price. Even that being said, with the haul they got when you include the player that they got in D.J. Moore, I don’t know that they would have been able to do better. I think that was smart on his part. He got a deal he liked. He was comfortable with it, and he wasn’t going to wait to see if there was anything better out there and maybe miss out on that opportunity.

So I thought it was smart to go to 9. It made the most sense. I love the return they got, and the crazy thing about it is I think as we’re a week out, I think never would have thought this when they made that trade, but they might be sitting there with more quarterbacks still on the board when they pick at 9 and might be faced with another opportunity to continue to add more picks.

I really thought that was the smart move that they made.

The latest trade rumor about the NFL is that the Texans are having difficulty getting value in return as they shop their second overall pick, which is why the QB-needy franchise is rumored to be zeroing in on edge Will Anderson Jr. at two.

The quarterback they covet is probably going first, and they could use their 12th overall pick to come back up for a QB in a better spot value-wise, in their opinion.

The Bears have an obvious need on the offensive line, and Jeremiah was asked: “The Bears have pretty much had every top tackle in for a visit. Darnell Wright is a name that’s kind of been percolating here in Chicago. I wanted to know your thoughts on his fit at nine with the Bears and how he compares to Skoronski and Paris Johnson.”

DANIEL JEREMIAH: I think if you are just saying as a pure tackle, his tape is really, really good. And playing on the right side this year, everybody has talked about the fact that he took a big leap in this year, but it’s hard to find guys that are 330 pounds that move like him and are as strong as he is at right tackle. I think he is plug-and-play. I think he is ready to go.

I have a higher grade on Skoronski. I think Skoronski can play tackle. I think Skoronski can be a good tackle, but I think Skoronski can be an unbelievable guard.

My order there would be Skoronski and then Wright, but I have in my final ranking I have Paris Johnson, Darnell Wright, Broderick Jones. They’re literally 16, 17, 18 on my list.

I’m a little higher on Skoronski, but I think all four of those guys are going to be starters. I think if you had to play a game tomorrow and know you were going to line up and play tackle, I think Darnell Wright might be your best option as a right tackle right away who could plug in there and get going.

So I don’t think there’s a wrong answer there, but for me personally I just think Skoronski is the best overall football player.

The Bears have shown interest in Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore, and Jeremiah shared some general thoughts on him and his draft projection.

DANIEL JEREMIAH: Yeah, he is a fascinating player. Coming out of the fall, I would say teams weren’t sky-high on him, and they all knew he was going to test like crazy. So you had people saying, okay, well, I think he is more of a third, fourth round player, but wait until you see him test. He is going to test like crazy.

Then you talk to some of those same people after he works out and puts on a show, and they go, oh, man, he is unbelievable. I mean, I think he is going to go in the second round. I say, well, wait a second, what’s changed? You didn’t necessarily love him on the tape. You knew he was going to blow it out. He blows it out, and now you’re saying that he is moving up. So he has been a fascinating case study from that standpoint. I like him. To me, I think — for me personally he is going to be in my late second-round range as a player, but the athleticism is off the charts and the testing side of things.

I think on the field he shows you some of that inside-outside versatility. He knows how to use his long arms to set the edge. I didn’t think he was a real polished pass rusher. I didn’t think he had a great game plan as a rusher, but when you have the combination of explosiveness and length that he has, he is an intriguing guy. I know there’s some buzz about him going into the first round. That would be a little early for me.

The late second round puts him in play for Chicago if things stay as they currently are.

He mentions plenty of other prospects that would make sense for the Bears to draft, so for more, be sure to check out the links I shared above for the entire presser.