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What to know about the 2023 NFL draft: When will the Chicago Bears pick? Who are the local prospects to watch?

chicago tribune staff, chicago tribune
·4 min read

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:

Follow our writers Brad Biggs, Colleen Kane and Dan Wiederer for more draft news and analysis — and read it all here.

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