Falcons Trade Up with Bears, But Not For Justin Fields or No. 1 Pick, Says Peter King

The Atlanta Falcons could make a big trade with the Chicago Bears.

Longtime NFL columnist Peter King announced his retirement on Monday morning, but before he says goodbye, he offered some takes on what he thinks could happen in the near future. One of those takes included the Atlanta Falcons.

King wrote that he sees the "wind blowing" towards the Chicago Bears keeping Justin Fields and trading out of the No. 1 pick, but he thinks that could happen with the Washington Commanders rather than the Atlanta Falcons. 

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But after the Bears acquired the No. 2 pick, he believes they make a sound trade partner with the Falcons.

"The Bears could keep Justin Fields (and should), and trade the first pick down once or twice, and build the kind of supporting cast a team needs to contend," King wrote. "Suppose GM Ryan Poles traded the top pick down one spot to Washington (which would take Caleb Williams), and got the second pick, a second-round pick and a 2025 first-round pick in return. Then suppose Poles traded the second pick to Atlanta at eight, and the Falcons picked one of the other quarterbacks. In return, Chicago gets the eighth pick, Atlanta’s second-round pick, and first- and second-round picks next year."

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The deal has multiple steps, but essentially the Falcons are sending two second-round picks and their first-rounder for 2025 to move up to No. 2. Assuming the Commanders would select Caleb Williams with the first pick, the Falcons would have their choice of North Carolina's Drake Maye or LSU's Jayden Daniels with the second pick.