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Bears’ Kadyn Proctor Mock Officially Ends Search for Caleb Williams’ Blindside Anchor

In this final attempt at a mock draft prior to Thursday's selection process, it should surprise no one that the Bears coach and GM would seek out offense first.
Gene Chamberlain|
Given a choice, Ben Johnson would seem an unlikely candidate to choose defense first in a draft.
Given a choice, Ben Johnson would seem an unlikely candidate to choose defense first in a draft. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The final mock draft should reflect who the selector believes the team, in this case the Bears, will take in this process.

In this final mock draft, version 4.0, the first-round choice came down to one direction or the other. If it truly plays out ahead of the Bears the way it did in this mock draft, then there will be many surprised and glum Bears fans. However, if they truly think about it, they shouldn't be surprised.

The ideal scenario would be for one of the three top safeties to land in their laps. While some NFL analysts think the safety group is overrated, the other teams in Round 1 for this mock didn't believe it.

The Bears couldn't take a safety with the first pick because all three were gone before even the secondary-deficient Vikings could pounce on one. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren went at No. 17.

They couldn't pick the ideal edge rusher at No. 25 because Akheem Mesidor and Keldric Faulk both had been taken, Faulk going one spot ahead of the 25th pick to the Browns.

This pick came down to either an offensive player or a defensive player, an offensive tackle or a defensive tackle.

Now, faced with that decision, who do you think Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles would take?

Given the team's current personnel situation, Dennis Allen will simply have to hope he get a better young force on the interior in another round.

The GM who is a former offensive tackle and the coach who was an offensive coordinator are not taking Kayden McDonald, the Ohio State defensive tackle who had only a 3% pass rush win rate last year.

Sure, the Bears need to stop the run, but is it worthwhile to throw first-round value at a player who is only a two-down or even one-down player?

Another defensive tackle is necessary, but if he's not going to be a force against both the run and the pass then they probably should have traded for Dexter Lawrence. There is one obvious choice for a team seeking a defensive tackle athletic enough to contribute as a pass rusher and run-stopper but Caleb Banks' broken foot and injury-plagued final Florida season are red flags.

The pick will be the player both Poles and assistant GM Jeff King went to Alabama to see at a pro day when one could have gone to Ohio State's pro day, instead. It's a player they didn't bring to Halas Hall, which means they know everything they need to know about him—offensive line coach Dan Roushar's explanation for how they use 30 visits was for information gathering, and not to indicate selection.

The Bears are on the clock in my BearsOnSI final mock draft, version 4.0, and people who like defense are going to be howling.

Round 1, No. 25

T Kadyn Proctor, Alabama

Keeping Caleb Williams protected must be Job 1.

They obviously don't trust Theo Benedet to play left tackle or they would have let him play against the Rams in the playoffs. They probably aren't getting back Ozzy Trapilo this year as best-case scenario would be later in the season. They've already benched Braxton Jones once. Who knows what they have in Jedrick Wills. Proctor gives them massive upside and ends any tackle concerns once and for all. At 6-foot-6 1/2, 352, Proctor plays with better agility (32-inch vertical, top 8%) and ability to get into the open field than is size suggests. He should be fine with 33 3/8-inch arms and a 40 time of 5.21 seconds.

Round 2, No. 57

DB Treydan Stukes, Arizona

They showed interest in him with their pro day visit and will be using him as either a safety or a slot cornerback. They could also convert Kyler Gordon to safety and put Stukes in the slot, but most scouting reports speak of Stukes’ real knack for reading a passer's eyes and that would indicate his aptitude to be in the back. His 4.33-second 40 time does exactly what Poles said the mission is after it became apparent they needed it in the playoffs, and that is to get faster all around on defense. His 40 time was upper 4% and vertical of 38 inches top 25% for his position. Early missed tackle concerns vanished in his final season, and his speed at the combine said his 2024 ACL surgery is ancient history.

Round 2, No. 60

DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State

The bigger, more stout defensive end type Allen covets is not really available in Round 2, unless they want to reach and grab Alabama's LT Overton way too early. Dennis-Sutton does give them the immediate contributor in the edge rush rotation that they need, and no one can fault his ability to play the run even if he is 260 pounds. He is a player whose stock seemed to improve greatly throughout the offseason. Dennis-Sutton made 25 tackles for loss in his final two seasons and 34 1/2 for his career. Of course he can play the run. He had 23 1/2 sacks, 17 in his final two seasons. In reality, his stock seemed to improve so much that they'd be better off drafting him No. 57 and take a chance they could get Stukes at 60.

Round 3, No. 89

C Logan Jones, Iowa

This one comes down to which center prospect they like most, because there will be a good group of them in Rounds 3 and 4 still. Jones ran a 4.9-second 40, which is faster even than Drew Dalman ran it. His one drawback is extremely short arms at 30-3/4 inches but he's playing center and not tackle. NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein quoted an unnamd AFC personnel executive on his play and it's exactly what you want in any player, center or otherwise: “He’s fun to watch. He plays like he’s got two kids and a mortgage to pay, man. That kind of grown-man effort.”

Round 4, No. 129

DT Chris McClellan, Missouri

By now, the defensive tackle group has thinned out but there is on shining beacon in the group. It's a defensive tackle who can both stop the run and get a pass rush, which is critical to what they want at the position. He has 34-inch arms and 11-inch hands and those two traits help make him tougher to throw over on the interior. At 313 pounds, he's more in th framework of Allen's size for a defensive tackle than some of the behemoths in this class. His 117-inch broad jump reflects his athleticism and is top 4% for all defensive tackles ever measured at the combine. McClellan's Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 81st out of 887 defensive tackles says he does both. He was 254th out of 887 as a run stopper. He was actually 51st as a pass rusher in 2024. A surprising ideal scheme fit for Day 3.

Round 7, No. 239

S Jalen Huskey, Maryland

They did lose three safeties. Besides Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens has left for Indianapolis. So, fortifying their depth helps. Elijah Hicks was a seventh-rounder. It's possible to find value late at this position and with Huskey they aren't projecting a position like they would with Stukes. He has already played it. Very good size for a safety at 6-2, 201, he started out at Bowling Green and transferred after two years. The 11 interceptions he made in his final three seasons say he's a ballhawk, but he also had 176 career tackles.

Round 7, No. 241

DE Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke

The wide receivers left in Round 7 didn't look any better than some that will go undrafted so giving them another chance with a pass rusher is a good option. At 6-6, he has the frame to become one of Allen's edge types. He's close enough to 260 (258) to work into that range. Also, he has 34 1/8-inch arms so good luck trying to throw over him--they could even consider putting him into the interior of the line in pass-rush situations. He had eight pass knockdowns in college. Trying to throw over Anthony and Gervon Dexter wouldn't be easy for shorter QBs. He's not the developmental project some others would be so late in the draft, after making 15 career sacks and 29 tackles for loss.

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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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