Bear Digest

Michigan QB Can Push Receivers to Bears

Coming out of the combine numerous mock drafts are trending toward Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy in the top 10 and it helps the Bears land receivers at No. 9.

Gene Chamberlain

Michigan QB Can Push Receivers to Bears
Michigan QB Can Push Receivers to Bears /
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A trend is developing in mock drafts as free agency closes in and it's one the Bears can only benefit from if they're looking for a wide receiver.

Even if the target is the top edge rusher in the draft, it would help as well.

The trend is JJ McCarthy becoming a fourth quarterback to be drafted in the top 10, and in some cases the top five. 

The end result is it pushes receivers back to the Bears at No. 9 who normally might not be there. The Bears offense could flourish with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and one of the best receivers in this draft. 

In some cases, they have teams trading up ahead of the Bears' ninth pick to grab McCarthy. In others, it's just the McCarthy momentum in this draft landing him in one of the prime spots.

The big challenge when mocks came down originally was finding the Bears a way to get a receiver to complement Williams, who is being shown now as the top choice to Chicago on 98% of mock drafts tracked by NFL Mock Draft Database.

The result is mocks coming out just before the last weekend prior to free agency are finding no trades up or down are necessary for the Bears to get their pass catcher. And in some cases they have the choice between the second- or third-best pass catcher.

In most of these mocks, the end result is wide receiver Rome Odunze dropping into the laps of the Bears after McCarthy gets into the top 10.

Luke Easterling of Athlon Sports and FanNation has McCarthy going at No. 5 to the Vikings on his last mock draft, after they trade up with the Chargers. That's a move making the Bears' trade market tougher for Justin Fields, although it might be better to trade Fields for less elsewhere than to trade him to Minnesota.

"What a massive win for the Bears, who might be in the market to move up for one of this year's top three receivers, and end up landing one without giving up anything," Easterling writes about Odunze. "Odunze could easily be a top-five pick depending on how the board falls, so getting him here would be the steal of the first round."

McCarthy goes in the top 10 in the latest mock on The33rdteam.com, as Ian Valentino has the Bears getting Odunze as well, but sees them having the chance to take either Odunze or Malik Nabers. Instead, they opt for Odunze and the argument for this is very logical.

"While Nabers has blazing speed that fits today's NFL well, the Bears already have DJ Moore," Valentino wrote. "Adding one of the last few years' most dominant deep-ball threats to a unit with Williams and Moore is more conducive to a healthy offensive system.

"Rome Odunze was as automatic on jump-ball situations as anyone could be over the past two years. Part of that was playing with Michael Penix Jr., but Odunze's 6-foot-3 frame is augmented by a 39-inch vertical and 4.47-second 40-yard speed."

Charles Davis of NFL.com has McCarthy landing at No. 6 to the Giants and as a result it pushes Nabers into the Bears' laps.

"Bears fans are in heaven! GM Ryan Poles delivers Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall and then picks Nabers, who plays with sustained intensity and says he's the best WR in the draft," Davis writes.

Of CBS Sports' five mock drafters, four have a wide receiver falling to the Bears and it's Nabers on mocks by Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso. All five have McCarthy moved up into the top 10 now and Wilson even has McCarthy going third overall to the Patriots. It's that Michigan background, maybe, as they look for a new Tom Brady.

"Best-case scenario for the Bears here," Wilson writes. "They land Caleb Williams, and then a run on quarterbacks and teams having to fill needs along the offensive line lead to Nabers falling right in their lap. He's legit a top 5 talent, and now Chicago has QB1 and essentially WR1.5 based on all the things Nabers does at such a high level."

Even with four quarterbacks going in the first eight, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports doesn't see the Bears as able to pull in a wide receiver at No. 9 and has them taking Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner. He'd be a fine consolation prize.

"Chicago would love to add another pass-catcher for Caleb Williams, but that is not going to happen unless it moves up in the draft order," Edwards writes.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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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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