Bear Digest

Mocking Perfect Bears Fit in Round 1

As seven-round mock drafts hit cyberspace, two find the ideal situation landing right in the Bears' laps.
Gene Chamberlain|
Mocking Perfect Bears Fit in Round 1
Mocking Perfect Bears Fit in Round 1

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Chicago Bears

What seems unlikely for the Bears is suddenly possible as the mock drafts have reached seven-round capacity with many websites.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler and NFL.com's Chad Reuter, real veterans of the mock draft industry, see defensive tackle Jalen Carter falling in Round 1 straight to No. 9 and the Bears solve their interior defensive line problems in a big way by taking him.

Would the Bears really do this or trade him back to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh? No can know, but it isn't often a team has special talent land in their laps. It's even more rare to have it happen with a need position. It would be really tough to let some other team have him if he actually falls to No. 9.

The tradeoff the Bears will take by taking a defensive lineman first becomes very apparent in this group of seven-round mock drafts. 

Both Brugler and Reuter have the Bears taking Canadian native and tackle Matthew Bergeron of Syracuse in Round 2 with the 53rd pick (actually 52nd because of Miami's penalty).

Not that there is anything wrong with drafting Bergeron because he moves well enough as a tackle to be a fit in this wide-zone scheme, but he's not ideal. NFL Draft Bible ranks him the eighth-best tackle in the draft and it's about where everyone else seems to have him on big boards.

It's just that Bergeron's blocking strength doesn't jibe with what the Bears seem to value in tackles. Bergeron is a pure pass blocker and right tackle is the spot where most teams want their mauling tackle. He needs to refine his run-blocking techniques.

"Bergeron plays with excellent pad level and he can sit down and anchor at the point of attack in pass protection," NFLDB wrote about him in its scouting report. "Power rushers struggled to bullrush Bergeron with consistency. His core strength and grip strength also stood out in the passing game."

The best thing NFL Draft Bible said of Bergeron is "Overall, Bergeron is a very safe prospect and many of the areas he needs to improve on are fixable."

Justin Fields definitely wouldn't mind a pass blocker, but this mock selection only shows what the Bears will face if they take either Carter or Calijah Kancey or Tyree Wilson or any other defensive lineman in Round 1. They won't get one of those elite level offensive tackles in Round 2. There is tradeoff.

However, the supply of defensive linemen does look like it runs on into the top of Round 3.

With mocks churning out at a seven-round level now, a roundup story of this type can wind up becoming nothing but a list so to avoid this we'll hit the high points.

Brugler's draft has a good understanding for what's needed in Chicago, because Auburn edge rusher Derick Hall at No. 64 and Kansas State cornerback Julius Brents at No. 61 follow the Carter-Bergeron picks. Later, he has them getting center Luke Wypler from Ohio State at 133. 

It seems unlikely Wypler could fall so far but it would be a need. He appropriately has the Bears concerned with that defensive line need all the way to No. 258, where Eastern Michigan-MAC sack man Jose Ramirez was chosen.

After Carter and Bergeron, Reuter went off the rail a bit with a wide receiver—but a good one—in Rashee Rice from SMU. A cornerback would seem more appropriate at No. 61 than a receiver. He also solved the pass rush need with Tennessee's Byron Young, an option not talked about a lot in Bears circles but a good one nonetheless.

Another interesting aspect of these two mocks is how both Reuter and Brugler have running back Chase Brown from Illinois going to the Bears, but at different spots on Day 3. The Bears definitely can use a talented third running back after losing David Montgomery, and Brown is an explosive type with a style conducive to the wide zone.

CBS Disappointment

CBS' four mock drafters have all expanded to seven rounds and at the risk of boring with more lists we'll avoid looking at each individually, but must point out tackle is the first-round target for three. Veteran Ryan Wilson and colleague Kyle Stackpole have Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 9. Wilson has Carter falling to within one pick of the Bears and Atlanta at No 8. Josh Edwards says Skoronski to the Bears.

Wilson's mock has a good balance and meets need with defensive ends Tui Tuipulotu of USC (53rd) and three technique Colby Wooden of Auburn (103rd), cornerback Jakorian Bennett of Maryland (61st) and center Wypler (64th) all winding up in Chicago. But the lack of a three technique before Round 4 is somewhat disturbing, as was spending the last two picks on wide receivers Matt Landers of Arkansas (218) and Antoine Green of North Carolina (258).

Still, Wilson's mock is far more acceptable than colleague Chris Trapasso's, which has the Bears reaching for Clemson's Myles Murphy in Round 1 at No. 9, and then with the next three picks tight end Luke Musgrave, wide receiver Rashee Rice and running back Zach Charbonnet, thereby leaving Fields without a top tackle and the defense lacking a real three technique addition.

This mock borders on neglect.

Stop the Run

This round of expanded mocks contains both my favorite mock draft and favorite comment. I liked the mock draft veteran Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News posted better even than the mock I put online this week. And that's even with Peter Skoronski going No. 9 instead of Paris Johnson Jr. As started in my mock, I could take Skoronski for the Bears and be just as satisfied as Johnson because he's such a quality blocker. It's just Johnson's ceiling is ultimately so much higher because of his athletic gifts.

Iyer's mock is excellent because of the heavy emphasis on the defensive line after they take Skoronski, and then because they also land a higher quality center later in Joe Tippmann, the Wisconsin blocker who has ability to play every line position. 

Iyer gets Keion White edge of Georgia Tech to the Bears at No. 61 and LSU edge B.J. Ojulari to them at 53. Both can rush from outside but White can also be a three technique. And then at 64 it's Gervon Dexter of Florida, the 6-6, 310-pounder who can be a big three or even play nose.   

Every defensive line possibility is covered. This is a mock draft that will not allow the Bears to struggle stopping the run again like last year. Any NFL team that struggles stopping the run is playing with one arm tied behind its back.

The Tippman selection is probably a bit overly optimistic to the point of being a steal.  Iyer has the Bears taking him at 133. If he falls this far, then actual NFL scouting has deteriorated beyond repair.

Ain't It the Truth?

Finally, with less than a week to go the analytics experts at Pro Football Focus have strangely still not released a full seven-rounder. But Michael Renner produces the absolute best comment of this mock draft season in his single-round draft that lands Skoronski for the Bears at No. 9.

"A week out from the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft kicking off, and it's still an unmitigated mess at the top," Renner wrote. "The only thing that's certain this year is that the first round will go in a way absolutely no one predicts."

Amen.

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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