Windy City Gridiron
The 2025 NFL draft saw the conclusion of the Carolina-Bears trade that offered Ryan Poles a wealth of draft capital. Notable, as well, is that if Ben Johnson proves to be the answer at head coach, then Chicago cannot expect another Top 10 draft pick (unlike the last three years). This means that the front office might need to build its draft capital in other ways—ways that frankly are more traditional for competitive teams.
Poles is familiar with the process in both directions. He certainly isn’t afraid to trade for players ahead of free agency, with Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson being the most recent examples. To be fair, Ryan Poles is also not afraid to trade players away (e.g. Robert Quinn, Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith). He understands how this game is played. With that in mind, here are three places Ryan Poles might want to consider leveraging assets to add to his pool of draft picks.
The Left Tackle Situation
Starting-level offensive linemen don’t tend to be traded, and the ones who are typically are seeking large contracts because they already have considerable accolades behind them. The highest-value trade packages all had multiple Pro Bowl honors at the time of these transactions. Braxton Jones likely does not fit into this category.
The three recent trades who are closest to Braxton Jones are arguably Marcus Cannon (RT, age 33), Kevin Dotson (OG, age 27), and Cam Robinson (LT, age 29). Of these, Cannon had two years left on his contract but was coming off of a season where he did not compete due to COVID. Dotson had one year left on his contract and had been playing at what was probably at least a slightly above-average level before his trade. Robinson was also in his final year and had been performing as a competent starter.
In each of these cases, no new picks were acquired. Cannon was traded with a 5th-round pick for a 4th-round pick while the teams also swapped 6th-round picks. When Dotson was traded along with a 5th-round and 6th-round pick, he earned the Steelers a 4th-round pick and a future 5th-round pick. Finally, before the 2024 trade deadline, Cam Robinson was sent with a 2026 7th-rounder for a 2026 5th-rounder that could theoretically become a 2026 4th-rounder.
In each of these cases, the value gained was that of 5th- or 6th-round selection. Almost all of the other offensive line trades in the last five years have been for players, picks of lesser value than this, or lesser pick swaps. If this is the most interest available for Jones, this is an easy decision. Chicago needs a backup plan on the offensive line more than it needs an earlier Day 3 selection, but if some team is desperate enough to offer a Day 2 pick before the deadline, that’s another matter.
Best Case Scenario: A team like the Chargers suffers a setback and offers a Day 2 pick for Jones, leaving Chicago with Trapilo at starter and...
