How the Steelers Changed the Race for the No. 1 Overall Pick

For teams like the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft means a lot. For the Patriots, it means a new quarterback, whether Drake Maye or Caleb Williams. It could mean the same thing for the Cardinals, or at the very least, a top-rated player or draft capital coup by training out of that pick, depending on what they see with Kyler Murray. Instead, both teams now sit second and third overall in the class.

In the driver’s seat is the Chicago Bears, who acquired that pick when the Carolina Panthers went up in the draft to get Bryce Young. As long as the Panthers continue to flounder, and there is no sign that they will not continue that, it seems like the Bears will get that first overall pick in addition to their own first-round pick. That could mean the team decides to move on from Justin Fields, take a quarterback, or help him out and get another talent to place with him.

That is interesting just because days ago, the Steelers were connected with Fields. Emory Hunt of CBS Sports has an idea, and that is that Fields could land in Pittsburgh..

Hunt believes the Steelers could be a great landing spot for Fields. He also throws out Jayden Daniels as a possibility, but thinks he could be gone by the time they pick. So, with the Bears having the potential first-overall pick, what if they want to move off Fields? Could Pittsburgh make sense?

“I keep asking, what if Chicago does want to off Justin Fields. That’s an option, an avenue that I think Pittsburgh could go down,” Hunt said. “It wouldn’t shock me to see them call Chicago and see what their temperature with Justin Fields is.”

If the Bears decide they want to move off him, this could have repercussions throughout the league, including back to Pittsburgh if that happens. But now, the Bears have 95 percent chance to hoist that first overall pick heading into the offseason, and they should send a gift to Pittsburgh for doing just that.