Bear Digest

All Draft Options on the Table for Bears

The trade down from No. 1 brought a different perspective to Round 1 and Round 2 for the Bears.
Gene Chamberlain|
All Draft Options on the Table for Bears
All Draft Options on the Table for Bears

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Chicago Bears

The trade down by the Bearss met with acclamation.

It's difficult to find a negative reaction to their move to jetison the No. 1 pick in favor of two first-round picks, an effective sixth-year first-round wide receiver and two second-round picks.

What the trade down did was put the Bears in a different situation for the draft, both the second round and first round.

Their perspective on the talent pool looks different and wider in a way at No. 9 now than at No. 1. For instance, they would have looked foolish at No. 1 drafting someone other than Will Anderson Jr. 

Options they might not have chosen while picking first become necessities if they are to get value from the ninth spot.

Here's what can happen in Round 1 and also on Day 2 now in the draft as a result of the move down by GM Ryan Poles to obtain more picks and receiver D.J. Moore. 

Round 1, Pick No. 9

The double trade-down option seems gone now, unless one of the top four quarterbacks drops to No. 9 and a team looking to draft him is not too far behind the Bears in the first-round pack. 

Then you could see Poles hit the down button on the trade elevator again.

There is great value for a building team in multiple picks over one elite player, and Poles already showed his awareness of this with the first trade back. When you have so many holes to plug, caulk might be better than a plug. The Bears were a sieve last year on defense and their offense struggled with inconsistency caused by a passing attack that never materialized.

However, going too far back drops a team into a different "value bucket" to use Poles' own parlance.

Now at No. 9, the Bears have brought offensive tackle into play in the first round while not removing defensive end from their consideration. It just wouldn't be Will Anderson Jr. at defensive end.

Wide receivers are available at No. 9, too, but it's safe to say the two top tackles in the draft would rate above the top wide receiver with the Bears after Moore was acquired.

This all means Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson and/or Northwestern tackle Pete Skoronski, a home-grown player from Park Ridge, could come into play.

Skoronski played tackle in college, but there is great speculation he'll need to play guard in the NFL. That's OK. The Bears can use a young left guard, too.

"Teams have been pretty open about that," he told reporters at the combine. "No one has really sat me down and said, 'No, you can't play tackle for us."

They wouldn't. It would be something that comes up in the draft or possibly at predraft meetings conducted at a team facility but not during the quick, general get-to-know-you meetings held at the combine.

Skoronski has great athleticism. His vertical leap of 34 1/2 inches was in the upper 3% of linemen in his class and broad jump of 115 inches in the upper 4%. His 30 reps in the bench was in the upper 14% and his 10-yard split of 1.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash was the upper 27%. This all equates to good ability to fit in the wide-zone blocking scheme like the Bear use.

However, his wingspan of 79 1/2 inches was in the lower 9% and his arm length of 32 1/4 inches is lower 4% according to mockdraftable.com.

The Bears had one tackle with a similar situation and moved him to guard. That's Teven Jenkins.

Johnson has smaller hands and scouts like tackles with huge hands, but he also has ideal arm length for a tackle. 

Either way, both players would be welcome in the Bears offensive line and Johnson is already a friend of Justin Fields.

Also open to the Bears at No. 9 might be one of the top edge rushers, TCU's Tyree Wilson, Iowa's Kyle Van Ness and Clemson's Myles Murphy.

If they felt like trading back and collecting more picks, later in round 1 they might find their coveted weakside linebacker in Clemson's Trenton Simpson, who ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the combine.

No one would turn their nose up on a cornerback at Halas Hall, either, especially Matt Eberflus. Remember, Poles called cornerback one of the "premium positions" along with offensive and defensive line. 

They could have a chance at Georgia's Kelee Ringo at No. 9, or even Illinois' Devon Witherspoon and Oregon's Christian Gonzalez.

Sure, they just drafted Kyler Gordon in Round 2 last year, but Jaylon Johnson is in a contract year and they still are a starting cornerback short unless you count Kindle Vildor as a starter.

There is one other position need the Bears currently have that could be addressed at this point in the draft and might be of a shock to some, although it makes perfect sense.

That would be to draft running back Bijan Robinson at No. 9.

At 5-11, 215 and with 4.46-second speed in the 40, Robinson is regarded by NFL Draft Bible as the fourth-best prospect for any position in the draft. The NFL treats running backs like disposable diapers and rarely do they get drafted where their talent projects.

For instance, Mel Kiper's first mock draft had Robinson going 23rd in Round 1.

Obviously this is a Round 1 talent at running back and if the Bears took him at 9 they would no doubt get their money's worth. Imagine the dilemma their offense could present for defenses with a back as strong, fast and shifty as Robinson, with Fields as a runner/passer, and with a suddenly bolstered wide receiver group.

Round 2 Trades Possible

The need for a three technique could become a high priority here, as well as for linebacker, offensive line or edge rusher.

The Bears do not draft after No. 9 until No. 53 and then have another second-round pick at No. 61 and finally the first pick of Round 3 at No. 64. This little cluster they've caused by taking the trade with Carolina can be a valuable trade tool.

It could be difficult to get three technique Calijah Kancey so late in Round 2, where they are picking. The more elite edge rushers might be gone by then, as well.

Ultimately, this doesn't need to be a problem because the Panthers armed the Bears with a means to transport to the top of Round 2, or even to the bottom part of Round 1. With pick Nos. 53, 61 and 64 there is the opportunity to advance and to still have a pick late in Round 2 or at the start of Round 3.

The 53rd pick is worth 370 points on the old Jimmy Johnson pick value chart used in the NFL. The 61st pick is worth 292 points and the first pick in Round 3 is worth 270.

So the Bears could package their two second-round picks for 660 points and that would be value equivalent to the 28th pick in Round 1, which is Cincinnati's.

They could take their 53rd pick and their first pick in Round 3, No. 64, and it's worth 640 points, which is the equivalent of the 29th pick in Round 1 owned by New Orleans. The 30th is owned by Philadelphia and is worth 620.

The Bears could also package No. 61 and No. 64 and it would be worth 562, which could put them as high as No. 34 in Round 2, currently owned by Arizona. The 35th is owned by the Colts and is worth a little less than the Bears' 61st and 64th picks combined.

By waiting and not trading, it might be too late for a quality defensive tackle, but linebackers and pass rushers are plentiful in this draft. So those positions could be options if they don't try to trade up using one or both of their Round 2 picks and the first third-round pick.

The Wild Card

One other option not mentioned earlier in the Round 1 discussion is one which needs to be discussed. It's possible by trading down that the Bears have put themselves in a spot where they would have a chance again to draft defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

If he fell because of the arrest for reckless driving and racing, it's not out of the question he would be there at No. 9. 

Would the Bears be interested in the consensus top defensive tackle at that spot despite the legal issues, and also other baggage like comments he isn't a real fit for the work ethic required in Eberflus' HITS principle?

Of course the Bears will talk to him at the Georgia Pro Day. According to the Tribune's Brad Biggs, they spoke to him at the combine prior to when the charges against him came out.

This one question is worth pondering from now until April 27 because their defensive tackle need is huge.

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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