Ignoring the Corner Need for Bears

Cornerback was a need position ignored by NFL Network's latest mock for the Bears.

The latest NFL.com mock draft by Chad Reuter goes four rounds, so it's among the rare attempts posted so far to include a Bears picks.

Reuter doesn't come up with a player early who will make many Bears fans happy, although it's a selection that shows he definitely understands their deficiencies and their future.

With the 39th pick in Round 1, Reuter had the Bears select Georgia safety Lewis Cine. The 6-foot-2, 199-pounder completed a spectacular combine effort with a 4.37-second 40-yard time, suggesting he might even be better suited to play cornerback.

Cine also had a 36 1/2-inch vertical leap.

The pick shows real knowledge of the situation in the Bears secondary because there are only two safeties on their roster at the moment. 

Adding a high-profile safety from the draft might help the cover-2 approach they use but it also must be pointed out that starter Eddie Jackson has disappointed since his $58.4 million contract. Putting a young, impressive safety like Cine in the secondary could let the Bears do something in the future with Jackson, chiefly cut him or trade him.

Reuter made the pick despite tackle Bernhard Raimann, wide receiver George Pickens and linebacker Quay Walker all being available at No. 39.

Passing on a receiver or a cornerback—unless they used Cine at cornerback—might seem foolhardy.

They didn't get either need satisifed with the second pick they own in Round 2, the one they acquired in the Khalil Mack trade.

Reuter took tackle Abraham Lucas from Washington State with pick No. 48 overall. Lucas would suit the style the Bears are looking for on offense. He can be of benefit in wide zone scheme as he is not the massive 330-pound type but is 6-foot-6, 315 pounds and ran 5.0 seconds in the 40-yard dash on both efforts.

However, taking Abraham meant the Bears passing on wide receiver Jahan Dotson of Penn State, cornerback Tariq Woolen from Texas-San Antonio and linebacker Christian Harris from Alabama all were available here.

Also, he passed on wide receiver Christian Watson. The North Dakota State receiver was selected at 52 by Pittsburgh.

Finally, in Round 3 at pick No. 71, Reuter found a receiver for the Bears and it's a popular pick for them but maybe not as much after the combine. It was Purdue wide receiver David Bell.

At the combine, Bell suffered through a difficult day with a 4.65-second effort in the 40-yard dash. It was a time tied for next to slowest. Only Alabama's Slade Bolden (4.66) was slower.

Bellalso had a 33-inch vertical leap, which isn't terrible but more was probably expected considering his reputation for making the jump ball catch.

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