Bear Digest

An Ideal Choice for Bears in Round 4 at No. 122

By the third day of the draft, best athlete is important but there are needs still to be filled and the Bears could find some players who fell through the cracks.

Gene Chamberlain

Luke McCaffrey, Christian's brother, hauls in a throw for Rice last season.
Luke McCaffrey, Christian's brother, hauls in a throw for Rice last season. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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With several specific needs confronting the Bears for this draft, a few lesser needs could go untouched until later.

The problem Ryan Poles faces is there really isn't a later in this draft for him because their last pick is No. 122 overall. There will be 257 picks in the draft, less the lost picks by rules violators like Miami's owner. A lot of talent will go to other teams without the Bears involved.

As a result, the one pick of the four the Bears might be more apt to trade is their fourth-rounder at No. 122. If they went back and claimed another for the sixth or seventh rounds it would not be surprising.

The extra needs they have besides edge rusher, quarterback and a third wide receiver are reasons for this. A 3-technique defensive tackle only a year after they drafted two of them, a guard and maybe a blocking tight end could help.

By the fourth round, the draft becomes a specific need-oriented grab by teams. The best athlete available might work but best athlete who fills a need is really the aim when the draft gets to Day 3.

Here are the ideal picks for the Bears at No. 122 in Round 4, provided they don't trade the selection for multiple picks later.

1. DT Tyler Davis, Clemson

At 6-foot-2, 302 pounds the Bears would fInd him a bit short but no worse really than Zacch Pickens last year. He is a playmaker, though, and had 6 1/2 sacks as a freshman in 2019. He had 16 for his career and 30 tackles for loss. Quick into the gap and off the ball, he had a 5.02-second time in the 40 but his 1.72-second split for 10 yards was in the top 28%. At this point in the draft, the Bears would do well to get a player whose top comparison is first-round Illinois 3-technique defensive tackle Johnny Newton, according to Mockdraftable.com.

2. WR Jamari Thrash, Louisville

A wide receiver who is called a 92% match for Jahan Dotson by Mockdraftable, based on his measurables. As a 5-foot-11, 188-pounder, who ran a 4.46 in the 40, he made 124 catches for 1,980 yards and 13 touchdowns over the past two seasons. His excellent start-and-stop ability maes for an exact fit to the slot. The Bears could do much worse if unable to select a recever in Rounds 1 or 3.

3. WR Luke McCaffrey, Rice

If you were going to take a chance on a Day 3 pick after missing out on receivers earlier, you could do a lot worse than a player who is Christian McCaffrey's brother, Ed's son and was a quarterback at Nebraska before he was a receiver. They'd get a heady, all-around athlete who can be involved in gadget plays and as a slot receiver or on the outside at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. He surprised at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash and with a fantastic 1.52-second split for 10 yards and a three-cone drill of 6.7 seconds, which ranks in the top 13%.

4. TE A.J. Barner, Michigan

Like with the last choice on this list, the Bears would probably need to trade back out of 122 because both of these players are projected for later. But they both have something many other tight ends lack. They are considered among the best blockers at their positions in the draft. Barner has the advantage of working in a college offense based on the running game. At 6-foot-6, 251-pounds, he has extremely long arms and a wing span (81 7/8 inches) in the top 12% of all tight ends. That's perfect for getting his hands on linebackers and rooting them out at the second level. Besides blocking, he made 64 catches for 610 yards and five TDs for the Wolverines.

5. TE Tip Reiman, Illinois

As a blocking tight end goes, he might be even better than Barner. It showed in his testing at the combine. He was top 5% in bench press reps with 28, yet ran a 7.02=second three-cone drill and 4.64-second 40-yard dash. He was probably underused as a receiver by Illinois but the reason scouts might think he can both block and catch more than he did is 10 1/2-inch hands, putting him in the top 9% for tight ends. He became a weight room machine and is coming in at 271 pounds now, and is 6-4 7/8, making him an easy target on short yardage.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher 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.

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