Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 NFL Draft:
When and where is the draft being held?
The 88th annual NFL Draft will be conducted Thursday through Saturday in Kansas City. The first round will begin Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT). The second and third rounds will start Friday at 6 p.m. (CT). And Rounds 4-7 will kick off Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT).
How long do teams have to make their picks?
The time limit is 10 minutes for Round 1, seven minutes for Round 2, five minutes for Rounds 3-6 and four minutes for Round 7.
How many picks do the Bears have?
The Bears have the following 10 picks in the draft:
Round 1-9 (from Panthers)
Round 2-53 (from Ravens)
Round 2-61 (from Panthers)
Round 3-64
Round 4-103
Round 4-133 (from Eagles)
Round 5-136
Round 5-148 (from Ravens)
Round 7-218
Round 7-258 (supplemental selection)
The Bears obtained the No. 9 and No. 61 selections from the Panthers as part of a package in exchange for the No. 1 pick in the draft. The Bears also acquired receiver DJ Moore, a 2024 first-round choice and a 2025 second-round pick in the deal.
Last Oct. 26, the Bears acquired a fourth-round selection from the Eagles for defensive end Robert Quinn. Last Nov. 1, they obtained second- and fifth-round choices from the Ravens in exchange for linebacker Roquan Smith and dealt their own second-round pick to the Steelers for receiver Chase Claypool.
The Bears traded their 2023 sixth-round selection to the Dolphins in October 2021 in exchange for receiver/return specialist Jakeem Grant. They obtained a 2023 sixth-round choice from the Chargers in March 2022 as part of a package for Mack, but they sent that pick back to the Chargers in exchange for back-to-back selections in the seventh round of the 2022 draft that they spent on safety Elijah Hicks at No. 254 and punter Trenton Gill at No. 255.
The Bears were also awarded a compensatory seventh-round pick. Every year, teams that lost more or better compensatory free agents than they acquired the previous year are eligible to receive compensatory draft choices in Rounds 3-7. The formula is based on salary, playing time and postseason honors.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that if the number of compensatory selections awarded is fewer than the number of NFL teams (32), then an additional number of supplemental choices will be awarded to clubs based upon the draft order.
This year, 30 compensatory selections were awarded to 13 teams, which required the NFL to hand out supplemental picks to the top two teams in the draft order—the Bears and the Texans. There were also five compensatory selections awarded to three clubs—the Browns, 49ers and Chiefs—because they had a minority employee hired by another club as its head coach or primary football executive. Kansas City received its pick because the Bears hired Ryan Poles as general manager.
How many times have the Bears had the 9th pick in the draft?
The Bears have chosen six players at No. 9, highlighted by Hall of Fame middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in 2000. The others are running backs Don Scott (1941), Bob Steuber (1943) and Ray Evans (1944), defensive end Al Harris (1979) and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd (2016).
Urlacher is one of four Hall of Famers taken at No. 9. The others are running backs Hugh McElhenny by the San Francisco 49ers (1952) and Lenny Moore by the Baltimore Colts (1956) and tackle Bruce Matthews by the Houston Oilers (1983).
Where can I follow the draft?
The draft will be televised nationally by NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and can be heard nationwide on Westwood One Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio, TuneIn Radio and ESPN Radio. If you're a Bears fan, the best place to follow the draft, of course, is on ChicagoBears.com, the Chicago Bears Official App brought to you by Verizon and the team's social media channels.
