Bear Digest

Heavy Offensive Line Emphasis

Expanded mock drafts direct Bears toward getting Justin Fields blocking help to avoid last year's problems.

Gene Chamberlain

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We've now entered the multiverse of mock madness.

This is when NFL mock drafts go full bore into the heavy stuff and everyone includes multiple rounds beyond just those teams fortunate enough to have a Round 1 pick.

Three recently released mock drafts took it beyond past mock drafts previously released, and ESPN's NFL analyst Jordan Reid went where no full mock draft has gone before with a full seven rounds.

As such, Reid led a full charge of mock drafts toward getting offensive line help to the Bears. It makes sense when they're still sitting there with a huge hole at right guard the uncertainty of two second-year tackles drafted by a previous regime. 

They can't afford to have another year like 2022, when their line gave up the most sacks in the NFL.

Surly Tackle to Bears

Reid sent the Bears Tyler Smith with the 39th pick, Tulsa's 6-foot-6, 332-pound tackle with a end-of-the-whistle's-echo attitude. His 5.02-second 40-yard dash helped show he could play in a wide zone scheme even at his weight, although the Bears would be sure to make him drop some.

At No. 48 Reid got the Bears pass-catching help the fan base has been clamoring for with Western Michigan slot receiver Skyy Moore.

One entirely realistic possibility is that Bears GM Ryan Poles will go heavily on the offensive line in his first draft. He did emphasiz the need for fixing the line, and Reid's draft takes this approach with guard Ed Ingram of LSU in the third round at No. 71. Like Smith, Ingram ran a good 40 time for a 6-4, 320-pounder. He also turned in a 5.02 and fits the scheme as mobile, athletic but big.

The big problem facing Poles in this draft is the gap between the third and fifth rounds because he'll be waiting almost twice as long after his third pick as he had to wait to make the first pick at No. 39.

At No. 148 in Round 5, Reid took another LSU player, defensive tackle Neil Farrell. At 6-4, 325, and with a 40 time of 5.41, he's not exactly a fit for a single-gap attacking front and fit better in what they were doing in the past with an odd-man front.

Finally, two picks later at 150, Reid addressed one major Bears problem with cornerback Cobie Durant of South Carolina State, a member of the HBCU. Durant, who is 5-11, 180, stunned some at the combine by running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash.

The last pick at No. 186 in Round 7 was a freakish athlete who fits a need. It's wide receiver Erik Ezukanma of Texas, who ran a 4.49-second 40 at his pro day but stands 6-3 and weights 220 pounds. It's not necessarily the kind of athleticism and size combination found in sixth-round receivers. He's considered a Deebo Samuel type who is a bit raw yet.

Chip off the "Old GM"

CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson ventured into the multiverse of rounds and made picks for the Bears at No. 39, 84 and 71.

With the first pick, he found a lineman close to Poles' heart in Boston College's Zion Johnson. If the Bears found Johnson there when they made their first pick, they'd be very fortunate because of his strength and athleticism. He ran a 7.38-second three-cone drill at 6-3, 316.

More importantly, he did 32 reps in the bench press at 225 pounds. And Boston College is the school where Poles played and had his post-player career start.

With the next pick, 48 overall, Wilson addressed a position few seem to connect as important for the Bears even though it is. He took Baylor safety Jalen Pitre, the all-purpose defensive back who can be anything from outside cornerback and slot cornerback to a safety of either type. He's being compared to Tyrann Mathieu and has a real nose for the ball. The second Bears safety spot alongside Eddie Jackson is wide open and currently only lifetime backups DeAndre Houston-Carson and Dane Cruikshank are under contract to battle for it.

With the third-round pick, Wilson did what Reid did and went right back to the offensive line and found Penn State tackle Rasheed Walker while passing on cornerback Martin Emerson of Mississippi State and Purdue wide receiver David Bell. Walker is a 6-6, 325-pounder who would be a right tackle to compete with Larry Borom and Teven Jenkins for one of the starting spots.

Receiver and Line

NFL Draft Bible conducted a two-round mock draft and Zack Patraw sent them an offensive lineman in Round 2, as well. However, he first had them address the need at wide receiver with Alec Pierce, the Cincinnati X-type from the Chicago area. 

At No. 39, they'd be getting one of the most athletic receivers of the draft with 4.41-second 40 speed but a phenomenal 40 1/2-inch vertical leap. The Bears have done plenty of background work on Pierce.

The tackle he sent to them in Round 2 was a player PFF regards as a top 15 pick, Central Michigan's Bernhard Raimann.

Raimann is the Austrian-born former tight end who converted two years ago and is 6-7, 305 pounds. So the old "Santa's Sleigh," tackle eligble play Matt Nagy ran could be dusted off and run by the new regime. They also could run about whatever they want with Raimann blocking, it seems. PFF gave him a 94.6 grade as a run blocker in his final year.

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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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