How "Best Available" Ruined SI Bears Mock

The Bears took the best available defensive lineman in the SI mock draft but not at a position of need and as a result were forced to take a receiver they didn't really need, either.

So much of the draft becomes a matter of priorities and alternatives no matter how much general managers say they take the best available athlete.

Choosing to select a player at one level often means falling back to a different alternative at another position with the next pick.

Teams without burning needs can take the best available athlete, if there really are teams without burning needs.

The mock draft from Sports Illustrated's Kevin Hanson is typical of this in relation to the Bears. The decision to take a defensive end first when receiver, offensive line and cornerback appear to be more pressing needs, greatly impacts who they have to take with the next pick.

With pick No. 39 in Round 1, Hanson has the Bear selecting Houston Cougars defensive lineman Logan Hall instead of wide receiver Christian Watson, who went six picks later.

It's not that Hall is unworthy of selection at this point in the draft. He just isn't the fit for what they really need.

Hall hasn't been playing in a 4-3 defense. He has been a 3-4 end at a much lighter weight than what the Bears had their ends play at in the 3-4 when they ran it. They're running a 4-3 now and Hall does fit in a 4-3 more as an end at his size, which at the combine was 6-foot-6, 283 pounds.

He's a player they could line up at end or in passing situations move to three technique. However, he isn't a true three technique for all downs and this is what they really need. They failed already at signing one in free agency and signed one with 4 1/2 career sacks. Here, they're drafting an end with 7 1/2 career college sacks.

NFL Draft Bible lists Hall as a top 50 pick at No. 43 overall, but lacks confidence with this rating based on their scouting report. They call his future "murky."

"If he refines his hands, Hall can eventually make a roster thanks to his excellent effort," NFLDB's assessment stated. "Even then, he would need to work his way onto several special teams units."

This  is what happens with "tweeners," and Hall definitely is at a size not ideal for 4-3 or 3-4.

The Bears had to come out of Round 2 in this two-round mock with a receiver and passing on Christian meant at No. 48 choosing an alternative after setting the defensive line as a priority.

The alternative was Western Michigan receiver Skyy Moore. 

Moore is competing against lesser competition in the MAC but did make 95 catches for 1,292 yards with 10 TDs last year.

As a 5-10, 195-pound slot who ran a 4.41-second 40, there is promise here. He had a respectable 34-1/2-inch vertical leap.

"He wins with his precise releases and route running, physical toughness and tracking," NFL Draft Bible says of Moore. "He is undersized and doesn't have the best straight line speed."

The mock also had the Bears passing on Tulsa tackle Tyler Smith to take Moore. Whether they would actually do this remains to be seen, as X-receiver is viewed as more of a hole for their receiver corps than slot. And Smith would fill a real need at either tackle or guard.

So by passing on a good X-receiver choice early to take a defensive end who is a tweener and doesn't really play a need position, they were then forced into drafting the best receiver they could find next. It was a MAC product who must play the slot and isn't the X-type they really need.

As a result, the Bears have failed in this two-round draft to find anything they really needed. 

Draft picks are too valuable to waste. This was a draft of misplaced priorities. 

Get the valued X-receiver first while still there is the real lesson. The top interior defensive linemen they need won't last until the 39th pick.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven