Chicago Bears: 2023 NFL Draft week has arrived

Posted: Apr 24, 2023 / 06:58 PM CDT

Updated: Apr 24, 2023 / 06:58 PM CDT

Jacob Infante, Windy City Gridiron’s lead NFL Draft analyst, joins “9 Good Minutes” on WGN News Now on April 24.

LAKE FOREST — After months of speculation, a major trade of their top pick, and countless mock drafts, the moment has finally arrived for the Bears.

This is NFL Draft week as the selections will get underway on Thursday at 7 p.m. central time in Kansas City with general manager Ryan Poles taking to the “war room” at Halas Hall to continue building the team back to respectability.

Rounds 2 & 3 will be conducted on Friday starting at 6 p.m., central time, and then the final four start at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

While every draft is important, this one takes on special meaning thanks to where the Bears are selecting.

They have a draft pick in the Top 10 for the first time since 2018 along with four total picks in the first three rounds. Poles will start with ten selections with a few possibly on the move as he tries to fill a number of holes on the Bears’ roster.

Which direction the Bears go with those selections, especially that first rounder, has been up for plenty of debate since the team sent the No. 1 overall selection to the Panthers in March. Could the team take a future offensive tackle, or maybe a Jalen Carter on the defensive line if he should fall to the bottom of the Top 10.

How about local prospects Peter Skoronski (Park Ridge, Northwestern) or Lukas Van Ness (Barrington, Iowa), would the Bears bring in a Chicago-area native for a position of need?

Perhaps the team will decide to trade their first round selection again to continue compiling picks with so many different areas of need.

All of those questions will get answered this week when Poles and his staff get to work at Halas Hall over the course of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Here are the Bears’ current selections for the 2023 NFL Draft.