Free agency started off with a bang for the Chicago Bears this offseason. Chicago moved quickly, signing tight end Trey Burton, backup quarterback Chase Daniel, kicker Cody Parkey and wide receivers Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson on the first official day of free agency. Since then the team has brought back the likes of Sam Acho, Sherrick McManis, Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara while also bulking up the roster with the additions of Earl Watford and Aaron Lynch. The Bears now have a better idea of what their biggest needs are in this year's draft.

Because of where the Bears currently sit with the eighth overall pick, there is a chance they can have plenty of teams behind them who will want to trade up to snatch a young quarterback of their own. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots are all expected to be in on a quarterback at some point this offseason. The Bills already made a deal of their own this offseason, moving up from the 21st overall spot to the No. 12 spot by trading offensive tackle Cordy Glenn and a fifth-round pick.

Buffalo added A.J. McCarron in free agency after trading Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns but a need still exists at the quarterback position. The Cardinals added veterans Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon in free agency, but neither are expected to be long-term solutions at the position. Arizona currently sits with the 15th overall pick.

With both the Saints and the Patriots it is all about finding a successor for Drew Brees and Tom Brady. There is no question both are among the best to ever play the position, but both are in the twilight of their Hall of Fame careers. The Saints hold the 27th overall selection, while the Patriots have both the 23rd overall pick (from the Brandin Cooks trade) and the 31st overall selection.

So what does all this mean? The quarterback market will greatly dictate how this year's NFL Draft goes down. With four signal-callers—Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen—all getting first-round grades, the Bears could be in a position to trade out of the No. 8 pick if a team behind them wants to jump ahead and pounce on one of the young signal-callers.

Five of the teams needing quarterbacks—the Cleveland Browns(1 & 4), New York Giants(2), New York Jets (3) and Denver Broncos (5)—all pick ahead of the Bears, but there is no guarantee all four quarterbacks are gone by the time Chicago is on the clock. If one of those four quarterbacks are still available then some of the teams behind Chicago could be looking to make a deal to jump up for a player they covet.

When looking at the NFL trade value chart that was initially devised by Jimmy Johnson, Chicago's No. 8 overall pick holds a value of 1,400 points. Buffalo's No. 12 pick is worth 1,200 and No. 22 pick is worth 780 points, Arizona's No. 15 spot is worth 1,050 points, New England has 760 points with the No. 23 and another 600 points with the No. 31 selection and New Orleans' No. 27 pick has a value of 680 points.

In terms of gaining maximum first-round value, New England is able to come the closest with their first-round selections at a combined 1,360 points compared to Chicago's 1,400 points. With that said, it is unlikely the Patriots will be willing to jump that high up in the draft to take a quarterback. Buffalo could get antsy and try to make a move up to the No. 8 spot and that could be the best overall value for Chicago. The two teams could conceivably swap their first-round picks (No. 8 for No. 12) with Chicago gaining a third-round pick in the process with the No. 65 overall pick (265 points). The Bears could also try to get greedy and ask for Buffalo's second-round pick, 56th overall, which is valued at 340 points.

The Saints are intriguing because of Bears general manager Ryan Pace's connection to the organization. He worked in New Orleans between 2001 and 2014 before earning the job with the Bears. He has cited Saints general manager Mickey Loomis as a major influence in his career and it would not be a surprise to see the two try to hammer out a deal. This type of move would allow the Bears to earn a lot of overall draft capital but likely not an immediate "stud" in the first round.

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For a team like the Bears, adding more draft capital makes a lot of sense, but only if the price is right. Chicago is not exactly in the position to be in "win-now" mode, but the team lacks overall star power, which is something they can conceivably find at the No. 8 overall pick. Pace is going to have a lot of key decisions to make in this year's NFL Draft and the ride should be exciting for Bears fans.