Bear Digest

Finding best Bears draft option at No. 10 by reading the tea leaves

Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles made comments about their current roster pointing in various directions after the start of free agency, but where does it all lead for draft pick No. 10?

Gene Chamberlain

Dayo Odeyingbo's edgy nature.mp4
Dayo Odeyingbo's edgy nature.mp4 /
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It's easy to read between the lines or read tea leaves and think the Chicago Bears tipped off where they're going in the NFL draft based on who they signed in free agency, if not what GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson said in two days of press conferences.

This doesn't mean you'll be accurate, though.

The popular pick at No. 10 in mock drafts for the Bears right now for 956 mock drafts monitored by NFL Mock Draft Database is tackle Kelvin Banks from Texas. Before saying this makes sense, know that this is a conclusion arrived at on only 7% of mock drafts.

This is the second-lowest rate of confidence for mock drafters of any first-round pick.

Translated: No one is sure what in the heck they're going to do, and Poles wouldn't have it any other way.

Does anything he said or did tip off where they're going?

The fun guys

To be sure, the two fun players to contemplate at No. 10 are running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Tyler Warren. The reason to suspect either is they have holes on their roster at both positions now and little is said about those positions. They did bring Stephen Carlson back as a possible third tight end on Thursday but Carlson wasn't even their third tight end last year until they started having injuries or players plucked off their practice squad like Teagan Quitorianoto.

Warren is an ideal Johnson tight end based on the fact he'll use 12-personnel packages at a top 10% level and also likes throwing it downfield more to tight ends based on where Sam LaPorta catches the ball.

Jeanty's skills are more those of an all-around, starting back and Johnson already saw first hand what current starter D'Andre Swift offers as a back with speed but not a lot of power.

At the combine during the post-press conference radio and podcast interviews, Johnson remarked he never had a tight end like Cole Kmet before. So it wouldn't be shocking to see him look for one who catch passes with more range and speed, but would they consider Warren so much of a fit to take him in Round 1?

Either way, both look like possibilities. The thing preventing both or either from getting drafted  by them is they could be gone before No. 10.

Finding a Bears edge rusher

Dayo Odeyingbo is the big edge acquisition but at 286 pounds he's not a pure edge rusher like Montez Sweat.

“Like I said, you can't have enough pass rushers," Poles said. "We're always looking to add and improve that group. But I feel good about where we are today.”

He was talking about free agency when he said this.

Odeyingbo's comments only made edge rusher an even more likely choice at No. 10.

"I'm comfortable playing anywhere on the D-line," Odeyingbo said. "If you've watched me play, I've played everywhere on the D-line from a zero tech to a nine tech. I've been able to be productive at all those positions."

Poles saw the same.

"If you watch the tape, you understand how disruptive he can be, and again, both inside and outside," Poles said.

A rush in pass rush situations with Odeyingbo shifted to one of the tackle spots beside Gervon Dexter and a Day 1 pick at the other edge to complement Montez Sweat would give the Bears a formidable, athletic front against quarterbacks. 

The other dimension to this is the draft crop on the edge. It's expected to be very deep and a player who is a situational edge for rushing the passer can easily be found in Round 2 as in Round 1.

Georgia's Mykel Williams would definitely fit Bears needs as a rusher on the outside in terms of body size and ability. And he could be there at No. 10.

"For that part of our game, and we all watch the Super Bowl, you want to have waves of pass rushers," Poles said.

They don't have waves now, just a wave.

Offensive Line

Even after the three interior positions have been addressed, it's easy to overlook what Poles said about the tackle position at this week's press conference.

"We have two extremely well-rounded individuals here," he said about tackle. "Feel really good about  Darnell (Wright), Braxton (Jones), the rest of the group that's in that room right now and how that thing could look in terms of the combinations, getting movement at the line of scrimmage, playing on the defenses line side of the ball. That's particular for the run game up front, though."

Jones does fit this need to block the defense off of the line of scrimmage in the run game. However, that wasn't all Poles said about his line additions.

"In the passing game we have to be better from a pass protection standpoint and we really prioritize guys that are going to win one-on-one battles with a three technique and we feel like both these guys are capable of that," Poles said.

He was speaking about Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney at guard but the pass protection doesn't hold up at tackle. While Wright was drastically improved, Jones allowed five sacks last year and his contract is up after this year. However, he has improved every year as a pass blocker according to Pro Football Focus grades, even though he isn't in the top 10 for tackles at pass rush win rate.

They can't be sure about anything regarding second-year tackle Kiran Amegadjie since it was a lost rookie season when he didn't get an offseason or training camp. And they definitely can use another tackle, anyway, as reserve Jake Curhan signed with the Cardinals and backup Larry Borom with the Dolphins.

At No. 10 the Bears select...

It's no more clear than before, only that they can take whoever they have graded highest on their board when the pick comes up and they no longer must have a guard. They can use one for depth and a young one who could be there if Thuney leaves after his contract expires would be an asset.

Still, that doesn't sound like a first-round need as much as later in the draft. Jackson got a contract extension already and he was a fourth-round pick. Good guards can be found later or converted from tackle.

You'll just have to take Poles' comment as gospel.

“This really opens the whole board for us," he said. "We're going to be able to sit back and look and say what's the best thing to do for the Chicago Bears?  Who's the best player that can impact? We got some tough decisions and a lot of film to watch between now and the draft.”

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.