Did Peter King Nail It for Bears?
Does Peter King have the right solution to a dilemma facing the Bears?
In Round 1, barring a silly trade up or reach for Davis Mills at quarterback, the Bears are in a place where the best cornerbacks and tackles are likely to be gone. They're in the dead zone where there are plenty of good players, but not the elite level of the earlier part of Round 1.
This is an idea reflected in the thinking of others, and Mike Fisher of Cowboys Maven most recently reported a scouting source of his told him there are 19 first-round talents this year.
This is exactly the kind of luck the Bears usually have had in the draft.
In the 1999 draft they were told there are four quarterbacks worth taking in Round 1 and Cade McNown told them he was more NFL ready than any of those other four and we all know how that went. As it turned out, there were only two worth taking, anyway.
When there are 19 talents and you are No. 20, it's time to be creative, yet simple.
King was in the only mock draft he does, even if he needed to read his copy better or have editors read it better. He referred to Bears receiver Darnell Mooney as Moody. It apparently got caught by some editors later and was changed, but they forgot to change all the references instead of reading it properly and it still said Moody on a later reference.
At No. 20, King has the Bears selecting Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
At first glance, this looks like out-of-town foolishness.
The Bears are looking for a slot receiver, not an X-receiver. Their X-receiver is Allen Robinson.
With tackle Christian Darrisaw already gone in this mock, the Bears couldn't exactly justify a reach at tackle and there's no doubt Bateman is a real talent.
A 6-foot-3 1/2, 190-pounder who runs a 4.39 40 and has a 36 1/2-inch vertical leap to go with excellent hands, is going to scare plenty of opponents. It's not a description totally unlikely Justin Jefferson in last year's draft.
Some scouting reports have compared Bateman to Kenny Golladay. It's somewhat ironic because the Bears made a bid for Golladay in free agency and then were blown out of the water by the Giants' big contract offer.
If the Bears plan to not give a new contract to Allen Robinson, this pick makes all the sense in the world.
Even if they do plan to give him the contract, who's to say Bateman can't line up at the Z-receiver with his speed. They could move the smaller, quicker Darnell Mooney (or Moody?) all over the field from in the slot.
It definitely would be a way of sticking to the draft board while finding a player of great talent who can help, even if he isn't the perfect fit in a draft spot where the fits are somewhat awkward.
And by the way, it is Rashod, not Rashad.
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