Pat Fitzgerald: 'Skoronski to the Bears! Let's go!' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Pat Fitzgerald is amped for the NFL draft. And he wants to see his player, Peter Skoronski, be taken by the Bears.
"I think he'd look really good in a Chicago Bear uniform," Fitzgerald told Adam Hoge of CHGO. "So, I'm just throwing it out there as a Bears fan. When I saw the trade, I went 'Skoronski to the Bears! Let's go!' We got our quarterback now let's go get our tackle. I've been doing a little bit of communicating with Ryan [Poles]. Wherever he goes, I'm just a Bear fan."
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There's a strong chance the Bears select Skoronski if he's available to them with the No. 9 pick. Ever since the Bears traded down from the first overall selection to the No. 9 pick with the Carolina Panthers, the odds of them drafting Skoronski definitely went up.
The Bears need offensive line help this offseason. It's at the top of their laundry list. They addressed their linebacker room by signing T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, along with adding D.J. Moore to their wide receiver core via the Panthers trade.
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They've only brushed over the offensive line, signing Tennessee Titans right guard Nate Davis to a contract. Other than that one move, the Bears have yet to make any other upgrades to the trenches on either side of the ball.
It's becoming clear the Bears probably believe they can hold off until the draft to address the trenches. Offensively, the Bears fielded an ineffective offensive line in 2022. Their shoddy play certainly contributed to Justin Fields' being sacked 55 times. They didn't have sufficient talent on the line, leading to a rough go for Fields in the pocket.
With Skoronski, the Bears have a chance to squash their needs for at least one tackle. The Northwestern product should become a bona fide starter to whichever team drafts him. Certainly, if it were the Bears, he would start immediately.
Funny enough, despite growing up in the Chicagoland area and attending Northwestern University in Chicago, Skoronski grew up as a Packers fan on account of his father, Bob, playing 11 seasons in Green Bay under legendary head coach Vince Lombardi.
MORE: Peter Skoronski praises Bears despite long Packers fandom
Rest assured, Skoronski said he would appreciate the opportunity to play for the Bears, despite his longtime fandom of Chicago's enemy.
"So obviously I grew up rooting against the Bears," Skoronski said to NFL Network. "I think it would be very cool if I got an opportunity to play there. And I've grown up in Chicago. I went to school here. I've witnessed this fan base and all my best friends are Bears fans so it's kinda cool to see how that fan base is."
