The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City near Union Station in late April. The Chicago Bears currently have the top pick while the betting favorite (all odds bet365) to go first overall is Bryce Young, who is 10/13 to go first. Young is entering the NFL after a college career with the Alabama Crimson Tide that included a national championship. Here's a look at the betting favorites to go first overall in the draft.
2023 NFL Draft betting favorites (top pick)
- Bryce Young - quarterback - Alabama (-130)
- CJ Stroud - quarterback - Ohio State (+200)
- Will Anderson - linebacker - Alabama (+550)
- Jalen Carter - defensive tackle - Georgia (+650)
- Will Levis - quarterback - Kentucky (+700)
What's Chicago's future with Justin Fields?
If Chicago has the first pick and Young is favored to go first, then it stands to reason that Bryce Young is probably heading to the Chicago Bears. Naturally, this has led to speculation as to what will happen between the Chicago Bears and their current quarterback, Justin Fields. Ryan Dunleavy, writing at the New York Post, summarized the situation in the following way:
The first big decision awaiting the Bears is whether to stick with dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields and trade the No. 1 pick to a quarterback-needy team, or to trade Fields and start over with pocket-based rookie Bryce Young. Free agency will begin six weeks before the draft, but the Bears’ level of aggressive spending likely will be tied to the Fields-Young decision.
The one thing about Fields that cannot be ignored is that he isn't all that good. Described as a "dual threat" in the passage above, Fields is actually much more of a threat to rush than he is to pass.
He had 11 interceptions last season, which placed him 13th in the NFL. However, Fields missed a couple of games and may have been closer to the league lead if he played the full 17. Furthermore, at 318 passing attempts, Fields had fewer passing attempts than any other quarterback who threw more INTs in 2022/23 than him, often a lot fewer.
Fields look like he might be heading toward a career as a quality backup. The Bears can definitely entertain trading him without wondering too much if they will second-guess that decision in the long run.
As far as Super Bowl favorites go, Chicago having the top pick has not put them on the radar. They are out at 80/1 with bet365 sportsbook which makes them the fourth-last favorite.
