Bear Digest

Mocks Getting Unrealistic for Bears

Less predictability and more wildness for the Bears on mock Monday as the draft countdown gets down inside of three weeks
Gene Chamberlain|
Mocks Getting Unrealistic for Bears
Mocks Getting Unrealistic for Bears

The mock drafts out on Monday with the countdown to the NFL Draft ticking inside of three weeks showed a complete lack by anyone to nail down which way the Bears could be going in Round 1.

They were all over the board, but the usual and often cited Pro Football Focus anti-Bears bias produced another doozy. The picks made by a few others were somewhat more conventional but not exactly realistic.

NFL Draft Bible on the FanNation.com network made a pick Bears coach Matt Nagy would no doubt be pleased to have.

Somehow, NFL Draft Bible's mock had Alabama Heisman trophy winner DeVonta Smith falling all the way to No. 20, where the Bears took him to pair with Allen Robinson and also Darnell Mooney.

In the mock draft article, Alec Pulido added "...For quartebrack Andy Dalton to succeed, the Bears need to surround him with weapons and Smith would be an exciting one."

It might be of more benefit to the Bears simply to have Dalton upright, and an offensive lineman would help more.

However, they have been looking extensively at slot or "Z" receivers to complement Mooney and Robinson and if a miracle happened with the Heisman winner falling, then it would be easy to see the Bears taking him.

After all, this is a receiver who outshined Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and Jaylen Waddle when all four were with Alabama. With his weight around 170 pounds, it's going to be a challenge for Smith to stay healthy in a league where bigger and faster mean harder hits in the secondary.

At least this pick made some sense for the Bears. 

The same couldn't be said for Pro Football Focus' Monday mock. They chose safety Trevon Moehrig of Texas Christian at No. 20.

This PFF mock had the Bears passing on both Florida State's Asante Samuel Jr. and Northwestern's Greg Newsome despite a drastic need for a cornerback after losing Kyle Fuller to a cost-cutting move.

"The Bears continue their offseason of less-than-exciting moves by drafting a safety in the first round," Sam Monson wrote, in explaining the lame PFF selection. "That's a glib statement, and to be fair to Moehrig, he led all safeties in pass breakups in each of the past two college seasons and brings the kind of impact playmaking to a Chicago secondary that has seen it ebb away over the past couple of years."

The Bears have never treated safety as any more than an early Day 3 position under GM Ryan Pace, and Eddie Jackson received a four-year, $58.4 million deal last year. So expecting them to take a safety in Round 1 when there are perfectly capable and acceptable cornerback candidates at what is a need position is totally ridiculous and irresponsible.

The other mock out Monday displayed the most realistic approach.

CBS' Ryan Wilson had the Bears making a pick more and more popular for them among mock drafts, tackle Teven Jenkins of Oklahoma State.

In an entirely sane and honest appraisal of the situation, Wilson points out: "The Bears appear set on moving forward with Andy Dalton so we'll take that as a sign that they won't move up in Round 1 for a quarterback. If so, fixing the offensive line is important and Jenkins, who can line up on the right or left side, plays with an edge and urgency NFL teams love."

Jenkins is a true right tackle and did play some at left tackle, as well. He is 6-foot-6, 317 and an aggressive run-blocking style he displayed through college has been noted by many web scouting reports. 

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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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