Mocks Detect Possible Trouble for Bears

Could the DeMeco Ryans hiring signal a possible shift when it comes to the early draft, and how would it affect the Bears?

With the Senior Bowl now history, mock drafts regain attention and two in particular stand out with regards to the Bears and their first pick overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

One presents a scary scenario for the Bears. The other is a possible one, but both revolve around the Houston Texans.

HOW JUSTIN FIELDS MAKES THE JUMP LIKE JALEN HURTS

Pro Football Focus had the Bears trading down with Houston in its latest mock draft and then taking Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the second pick.

No problem here. Trading with Houston should ensure they'll get Carter and at the very least one of the top two defensive linemen. But the return in this trade down would likely be much less than they would get by moving down with some other team looking for quarterback help.

In this PFF scenario, the Bears get the Texans' second pick in the draft, their first pick in Round 2 or No. 33 overall, and a fourth-round pick for 2024. There would be no great haul for sliding down one spot.

The comical aspect of this is BearDigest attempted to duplicate this trade down with PFF's mock draft simulator to get the second-round pick and 2024 fourth-rounder. The PFF simulator wouldn't allow the trade.

It looks like PFF must need to update its own simulator about what's possible in its own mock drafts.

Regardless, the Bears would essentially regain the position they had atop Round 2 with this deal. That's the pick they traded away to Pittsburgh for Chase Claypool.

Texans Cause Trouble in Mocks

The really scary aspect surfaced in two mocks. One was conducted by NFL Draft Bible. They had the Bears selecting Jalen Carter with the first pick.

No problem there, as many mock drafts seem to be focusing on the defensive tackle spot for the Bears and Carter is the highest rated player.

However, it's the second pick in that mock which should scare Bears fans. 

The Texans, in this mock, took defensive end Will Anderson Jr. and not a quarterback as many expect.

Speculation seems to be building that the Texans would be more interested in a defensive lineman since former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has been hired as Houston head coach. 

The Texans could definitely use a quarterback, but if their coach is a defensive guru like Ryans then it is possible they'd look for defensive help.

If Houston really is focused on defense and the Bears trade down with Indianapolis to No. 4 spot, this could leave the Bears entirely on the outside looking in at the top two defensive linemen in the draft.

What would happen then?

The website the33rdteam.com released its mock on Monday and had the Texans taking defensive help, as well. It really is becoming a trend.

The Bears traded down with the Colts and in the end both top defensive linemen were gone by No. 4. It was the nightmare scenario for the Bears.

The Bears were left drafting tackle Broderick Jones of Georgia, who played left tackle in college. The Bears seem to be more interested in a right tackle at the moment after Braxton Jones had a strong rookie season, which included making the PFF All-Rookie Team.

And how many Joneses can the Bears get on their roster anyway (Justin, Velus, Jaylon, Braxton and now Broderick)?

Would the Texans really think about defense? Ryans wasn't exactly discounting the importance of other positions besides quarterback during his opening press conference, according to Coty M. Davis of Texans Daily.

"We all play together," Ryans said. "That's the awesome part about football is it's not on one guy's shoulders to go out there and win the game for us. It's all about building around each other and playing together. That's how we'll win games."

Two other mocks redrafted on Monday fared better for the Bears at getting defensive line help with trades down to Colts' No. 4 spot, both for CBS Sports. One came with weird twist.

Kyle Stackpole's updated mock Monday put Jalen Carter in a Bears uniform at No. 4 after a trade. However, CBS veteran Ryan Wilson had the Bears trading down to No. 4 and selecting Will Anderson.

No Houston defensive picks in this mock, but the weird twist: Wilson had Carter falling all the way past the Bears when they took Anderson and he wound up with the Detroit Lions.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven