Larger Receiver Supply Anticipated

The laws of supply and demand could lend the Bears a great assist if reality follows fantasy in the 2022 NFL Draft.

FanNation's NFL Draft Bible is in the midst of conducting its mock draft Mondays and the March 28 version of a one-round mock draft obviously doesn't include a pick from the Bears, but it does carry good news for a team badly in need of wide receivers.

Without a pick in Round 1, the Bears will be at the mercy of the board and in this mock NFL draft the board is friendly.

Despite the obvious need now for Green Bay and Kansas City at wide receiver after trades, NFL Draft Bible sees only four wide receivers being selected before Round 2 begins. They had Ohio State's Garrett Wilson going to Houston at No. 13, Drake London of USC to the Eagles at 16, Jameson Williams from Alabama to the Packers at No. 28 and Arkansas' Treylon Burks to Kansas City at No. 30.

Such a scenario could leave players like Chris Olave, George Pickens, Alec Pierce, John Metchie and Jahan Dotson in Round 2 for the Bears, who have the seventh pick of the second round (39 overall) as well as the 16th pick of the round (48th).

Many draft mocks so far have Olave going in Round 1 but throughout the run up to the draft there have been six or seven wide receivers selected in the first round of mocks, so the bigger the supply for Round 2 the better for Chicago. The need is high for an X-receiver, a bigger player to line up on the outside who would be like Pickens. However, it would be difficult to see the Bears passing on Olave, the receiver who ran 4.39 seconds for the combine 40 and played with Justin Fields at Ohio State.

Both Pickens and Pierce are players the Bears have been looking at extensively in their scouting of the combine and pro days.

Breakdown of today’s NFL attendees at Cincinnati pro-day:

*HC- ATL, HOU, NO, PIT, TEN, WAS
*GM- ATL, NYG, PIT, WAS
*QB- ATL, HOU, PIT, TEN, WAS
*OC- ATL, DAL, PIT, WAS
*DC- ATL
*WR- ATL, CHI, NO
*RB- NO
*LB- ATL, AZ, CIN
*DB- ATL, HOU, NYJ, TEN
*ST- DAL pic.twitter.com/5ZTLc5gmxS
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) March 24, 2022

Penn State's Dotson said at the combine he had an interview with the Bears.

THE LATEST MOCK MONDAY FROM NFL DRAFT BIBLE

The same mock had five cornerbacks drafted in Round 1 which would leave one or two cornerbacks worthy of an early Round 2 selection by the Bears.

The issue in this scenario—one the Bears no doubt will face in the real draft—is how many players at either position go to teams in the first six picks of Round 2.

Seems like Alec Pierce will be a realistic option for the Bears in the draft

Big, athletic receiver with a nice skill set: hands, speed, leaping ability. College production wasn't *amazing* (106 catches for 1,851 yards in 36 games) and he's not a great YAC guy pic.twitter.com/XfFEhthBSe
— Jeremy (@JeromeyR0me) March 25, 2022

Unless they are willing to move up in Round 2, it's possible the supply top talent at either of those positions could be drastically reduced during the process of those picks being made. However, the team's biggest need seems to be acqiring more picks rather than giving more up to target a player or two.

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