At Least One Mock Draft Finds QB Bears Could Love
It's never too early for mock drafts and it's definitely never too early to speculate about the Bears drafting a quarterback.
Although juniors still have until Jan. 17 to declare for the NFL draft, no one knows the complete draft order yet, and compensatory picks have to officially be awarded, there are mock drafts out there. And they go beyond the first round so Bears fans need not go mock draft hungry. Last year the mocks that didn't get into the third round left Bears fans starving for predraft buildup.
The early mocks came up with one quarterback name for the Bears to pair with Mitchell Trubisky. Draftblaster.com has the Bears selecting Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in Round 2 with their first pick, No. 43 overall, the one they received from Oakland in the Khalil Mack trade.
Love has been labeled a poor man's Patrick Mahomes, so pairing him with Matt Nagy makes sense since it was Nagy who worked with Mahomes in his rookie year.
The reason Love gets a tag like a poor man's Mahomes isn't because he lacks talent. His arm is powerful, though not at Mahomes' level, but it's definitely not a problem. He just doesn't pull off a lot of the off-balance throws or risky decisions he makes.
Overall, most scouts have put an inconsistent label on Love, who is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.
A largely disappointing 2019 season followed a breakout 2018 season and Love will need to prove himself in the week leading up to the Jan. 25 Senior Bowl. He threw for 3,567 yards, 32 touchdowns and completed 64% with only six interceptions as a sophomore but last season completed only 129 of 235 for 1,631 yards with eight TDs and six interceptions.
The same mock draft had the Bears passing on Washington quarterback Jacob Eason, and later in Round 2 selecting his Washington teammate, tight end Hunter Bryant. He's a U-tight end type, like Trey Burton.
Draftsite.com has the Bears passing on Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts to take Houston tackle Josh Jones, a 6-7, 310-pounder.
Drafttek.com has an actual seven-round draft already, and also has the Bears selecting Jone. It's not far-fetched considering how they've committed so much money to the line with nothing to show for in terms of run blocking.
"With Kyle Long retiring and a new O-Line coach in Juan Castillo, it makes sense to add affordable talent up front," analyst Jud Branam wrote. "Quick-rising Houston OT Josh Jones could fill that bill if he lasts beyond Round 1."
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