Mock Drafts Pointing Bears at the Same Tackle
NFL mock drafts normally don't need an order of selection—they invent their own based on current record and standing, even with two games remaining.
It's all fiction anyway, so what's the difference?
While this leaves much uncertainty, the early simulations do seem to be fairly certain about what the Bears need.
Both CBS Sports.com and Walterfootball.com not only see the Bears needing the same position but also selecting the same player.
They will be supposedly picking much too late in the 15th to 16th range to acquire one of the better quarterbacks, in apparently what is a greatly overrated class of quarterbacks.
Instead, both websites have the Bears selecting Virginia Tech tackle Christian Darrisaw. This past week Darrisaw declared for the draft, so there's no doubt he'll forego his final year of college eligibility.
The selection of the 6-foot-5, 314-pounder would come as no surprise considering the situation the Bears face at tackle, although it must be said neither starting Bears tackle has done anything this year to play themselves out of a job for next year.
Right tackle Bobby Massie is on injured reserve for the second straight year. Charles Leno Jr. has been more consistent this season with a greater emphasis on fundamentals, but probably not good enough to avoid being replaced by a first-round pick.
Massie is a former fourth-rounder who signed in Chicago in 2017 as a free agent while Leno was a seventh-round pick by former Bears GM Phil Emery in 2014.
Massie is already 31 and Leno next year will turn 30 in the second half of the season, so age could be a factor.
If the Bears cut Leno Jr. next year before June 1 they would realize $6.2 million in cap savings and $9 million after June 1. If they cut Massie next year they'd save $5.4 million and $8 million after June 1.
So the thought of pursuing a tackle in the draft is based in logic, and because of an abundance of guards and centers on their current roster, they'd need to focus on tackle if they opted for offensive line in the 16th position.
Darrisaw is more of a left tackle candidate, size-wise. He has started there for three seasons at Virginia Tech.
Another position projected for Bears draft interest is wide receiver, and this would require they plan on losing Allen Robinson II in the free-agent market. It's a possibility, but they can always tag him if they want.
Miller wrote: "Will the Bears bring back Mitchell Trubisky after he's looked solid in the last three weeks? Maybe, but only if a clear-cut better option is on the table. More likely is that the Bears will finally try to surround him with a supporting cast that can help them evaluate him in his final year under contract."
Apparently Miller hasn't followed the Trubisky news closely because he has no final year next year. His fifth-year option was declined in May. He's a free agent at the end of this year. News flash.
The other problem with this pick is Moore is 5-foot-8. They're not likely to let their 6-foot-2, 222-pound X-receiver leave to replace him with a 5-8 version who would fit better as a slot receiver or Z-receiver.
The obvious Bears need for a quarterback wasn't really ignored as much as it was made impossible to fill because of the other picks above the Bears.
CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson has five quarterbacks going in the first 12 picks.
"Meanwhile, five quarterbacks end up going in the top 12 this week," Wilson wrote. "Put another way: If teams like the Patriots or Bears or Football Team want to get a franchise passer they may have to trade up to get him."
The early mocks always overrate quarterbacks.
If there are five quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks this year, there will surely be plenty of other players with actual talent available at other positions.
This QB class is nothing to make anyone forget the 2017 or 2018 quarterback classes, which obviously included Trubisky.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
