Windy City Gridiron

● By Jacob Infante
The 2023 NFL trade deadline has come and gone. Jaylon Johnson stayed put in Chicago, the Bears are down a 2024 second-round pick, and Montez Sweat is the newest addition to their defensive line. Now that we’ve past the halfway point in the season, it’s becoming apparent which teams will be fighting for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and which teams will be fighting for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Unfortunately for Chicago Bears fans, their team falls in the latter category. Luckily for said fans, though, the Bears have a realistic chance to end up with two top-5 picks when it’s all said and done. With the Panthers at 1-7 and the Bears at 2-7, Chicago currently holds the Nos. 2 and 3 selections in the 2024 draft. The Cardinals are the only team picking ahead of them as of this writing, and with Kyler Murray soon returning and the Panthers possessing the strength of schedule tiebreaker over Arizona, the first pick isn’t out of reach.