The order for the top 18 picks in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft is set, with the Chicago Bears picking No. 1 and the Houston Texans picking No. 2. The Texans’ dramatic Week 18 victory allowed the Bears to sneak into the top spot. Will Chicago keep this pick or trade back? Will the Texans choose their signal-caller of the future with their selection? The Bears and the Texans are followed by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3.

Several teams have the opportunity to make big moves, as there have been six trades involving first-round picks. The Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles are in line to have two first-round selections. This year’s Round 1 will have 31 picks as the Dolphins were stripped of their selection for tampering violations. The Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers also will not have a first-round selection. The Denver Broncos don’t own their own first-round selection but will have one from a trade that sent outside linebacker Bradley Chubb to the Dolphins in a deal that included the 49ers’ 2023 first-round pick.

The 2023 NFL draft will take place at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, with the first round slated for April 27. Rounds 2 and 3 will take place April 28, and Rounds 4 through 7 will be April 29. The draft will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App.

Check out the top 18 picks below, with Nos. 19-31 projected from the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI), which projects the order by simulating the rest of the season 10,000 times. (Team write-ups below have been updated from December)

There will be plenty of quarterback-needy teams looking to trade up to the Bears’ No. 1 spot. A year after not having a first-round selection, Chicago could come away with multiple firsts by trading back, allowing general manager Ryan Poles to address needs at defensive line, wide receiver and offensive line. The Bears rank last in the NFL in sacks (20) and pressures (96). Bolstering their pass rush is priority No. 1, and if it doesn’t come by signing free agents, they could find that help atop the draft. — Courtney Cronin

The Texans’ rebuild is stuck in the mud. Why? Because they’re searching for their quarterback of the future and –with Lovie Smith fired after Sunday’s game — a new head coach. There was optimism before the season that Davis Mills could become the long-term answer, but he was benched after 10 starts (and 11 interceptions). After backup Kyle Allen struggled through two starts, however, Mills returned as the starter in Week 14. Going into this draft, Houston must find its franchise signal-caller to give its rebuild any legitimacy. — DJ Bien-Aime

First, it’ll depend on who’s making the pick — will it be longtime general manager Steve Keim or someone else? Keim has been the GM since 2013. Arizona will have a plethora of needs in the first round, and sticking to its “best player available” philosophy hasn’t always benefited the team. This draft will be about making quarterback Kyler Murray happy and giving him more options to work with, whether that’s an offensive lineman or an offensive weapon. If that doesn’t happen, the discord behind closed doors will continue, especially as Murray gets set for rehab and surgery for the season-ending knee injury he suffered in Week 14. — Josh Weinfuss

The Colts have drafted two quarterbacks in the first round since 1998: Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. With their need at the position as dire as ever, look for a heightened focus on the passers in this class. The Colts have other issues to sort out — such as who will be their coach going forward — but there is no debate about the critical situation at quarterback, given Matt Ryan‘s age (37) and performance and the unproven status of Sam Ehlinger. — Stephen Holder

The Russell Wilson trade has general manager John Schneider and the Seahawks sitting pretty. With the Broncos at 5-12, the first-round pick they owe Seattle lands at No. 5. Picking that early gives the Seahawks a rare chance at adding the impact defensive lineman they badly need up front, but they’d also need a quarterback if they let Geno Smith walk in free agency. Seattle also owns Denver’s second-round pick, meaning it’s likely to have three top-40 picks. — Brady Henderson

Ever since he arrived in Detroit, general manager Brad Holmes has shown an eye for draft talent, picking gems such as fourth-round receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is off to a record-breaking start to his career. There will be tough decisions made in this draft, and the Lions likely will have to address quarterback and cornerback. Yes, Jared Goff is having a great season, but Detroit needs to secure young talent at that spot, and the secondary is its largest need on defense. — Eric Woodyard

o Ranks: Kiper >> First-round grades >>o Full ranks >>

A Former Chicago Bears head coach has been fired

A former Chicago Bears head coach was on the hot seat heading into Week 18. According to a report by Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo with the NFL Network, Lovie Smith has been fired by the Houston Texans.

The fact that they won their final game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts wasn’t enough to save Smith’s job. The win didn’t do much for the 3-13-1 Texans, but it did hand the Bears the number one draft pick in 2023.

Smith was only in his first year with the Texans. He entered a terrible situation with a poor roster following the fallout of not trading Deshaun Watson and the Bill O’Brien era. One wonders what the Texans thought Lovie could do in a year.

The Texans’ previous coach before Smith was David Culley. Culley only lasted one year with the Texans before he was fired after a 4-13 season. That doesn’t seem like a promising pathway for stability.

Smith is 92-100-1 as a head coach in the NFL. He was 81-63 as the head coach of the Bears from 2004-2012. Smith took the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XLI where they lost to the Colts. He would go to the postseason only once after the Super Bowl appearance.

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Chicago Bears 2023 Opponents set

As the sun sets on another Chicago Bears football season the offseason frenzy full of outlandish predictions, fans bellyaching about how they would fix the roster, and high hopes for a better 2023 has officially begun. 2023 is already treating the Chicago Bears and their fans pretty well. The Bears officially wrapped up the 1st overall pick in week 18 with a loss to their division rival the Minnesota Vikings and with some help from former head coach Lovie Smith and the Houston Texans. We are a long way from kicking off the 2023 NFL season but here is who the Chicago Bears will take on in 2023.

Home games

The Bears’ 2023 schedule will be a 4th place schedule meaning they will play three games against teams that also finished 4th in their respective division. They will play their 3 annual home games against their NFC North rivals. The Bears will have two home games against NFC South opponents the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers. Chicago will also host two AFC west opponents in the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Lastly, one of the Bears’ three 4th place games will be in Chicago against the Arizona Cardinals (who depending on the actual schedule of this game could potentially be without Kyler Murray).

Away Games

Of course Chicago will travel to their NFC North counterparts homes. The Bears will play their last two scheduled 4th place games on the road against the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Browns. The Bears toughest game of 2023 will no doubt be when they travel on the road to play Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Chicago will also have to travel Los Angeles to play the Chargers and will also travel to Tampa, two places that are very tough to come in and win at. The Chicago Bears will round out their 2023 road opponent list with a matchup in the big easy against the Saints.

One NFL scheduling rule to take note of since the addition of the extra regular season game is every NFC team plays eight home games and nine road games in 2023 and all odd-numbered years and Nine home games and eight road games in even numbered years.

First thoughts

Overall the Bears opponents list for 2023 at first glance is tough. With road games in Kansas City, Tampa, and Los Angeles and it looks like the NFC North will be even more competitive next season with the emergence of the Lions, the Bears are going to have a hard schedule. The good news is that the Chicago Bears have the most cap space heading into the offseason, the 1st pick in the 2023 draft, and a QB to build around. The 2023 Bears will look very different from this years team and fingers crossed be able to compete for a playoff spot next season.

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Top Blackhawks prospect Lukas Reichel might not be a prospect anymore.

The 20-year-old forward finally smashed through his NHL glass ceiling Sunday, notching three points in a display of confidence, talent and chemistry in the Hawks’ 4-3 overtime victory against the Flames.

Combined with his stellar outing Friday against the Coyotes — which Hawks management considered his best game in the organization to date — Reichel proved this weekend he deserves a permanent role in the Hawks’ top six.

And the Hawks are going to give it to him.

”The idea of bringing him up now is probably [because] he earned a spot,” coach Luke Richardson said. ”It’s not just a flash, coming up for a game or two. It’s to give him extended time to see if he can sustain what he’s doing right now. We expect him to be here.”

Statistically, Reichel had a goal and two assists — quadrupling his career NHL points total from one (in 13 games entering Sunday) to four — as well as a team-high five shots on goal and four high-danger scoring chances in 16 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time.

But even beyond the numbers, every part of Reichel’s play reflected the kind of growth that suggests elite upside.

”It feels so good,” Reichel said. ”Last game, too, there were so many chances, and it didn’t go in. But you’ve got to work hard for it and keep going, and today it bounced my way.”

For his goal, he retrieved a loose puck along the boards, protected it from two Flames, made a nifty behind-the-back pass to Seth Jones, crashed the net and knocked in a rebound between his legs.

For his first assist, his high-knees skating stride powered him down the ice on a two-on-two rush, and he sold the shooting possibility convincingly — so much so that the Flames pulled starting goalie Jacob Markstrom for falling so hard for it — before delivering a perfect pass to give Philipp Kurashev a tap-in.

And for his second assist, he finally connected with Max Domi — with whom he had worked in harmony all night, nearly producing several additional goals — for the dramatic overtime winner.

”He managed the puck; his decision-making was great,” Richardson said. ”He’s not the biggest guy, but that’s a big defense over there, and he wasn’t afraid to go in there. And that was good to see.

”[He was] not only just dangling with the puck offensively but separating people from the puck and creating havoc. He really wants to make a big impression, and he has so far.”

Reichel’s increased physicality, defensive responsibility and eagerness to drive the net are all factors behind the Hawks’ sudden comfort — 12 months after his NHL debut — with keeping him around for good.

But perhaps the biggest factor is his maturation. Rockford coach Anders Sorensen worked closely with Reichel this fall, reminding him often that it’s perfectly fine to ”play 10 shifts in a row where nothing happens” as long as he’s being smart and consistent during each of those shifts.

Ask Reichel about that subject, and it becomes clear he has been listening. It’s also clear why he needed to hear it.

”[Sorensen] always says, ‘Sometimes it’s good to have 50-50 shifts,’ ” Reichel said. ”I’m always trying to do something cool. Sometimes it works and it’s pretty sick, but sometimes it doesn’t work and it’s a turnover and I go play [in the] ‘D’-zone.”

On Sunday, the cool things were working and were pretty sick. His single-game highlight reel was more exciting than several weekslong stretches of Hawks hockey this season.

In the weeks ahead, however, the Hawks would love to see Reichel continue to demonstrate his all-around improvement as much as they would enjoy watching him pile up points.

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