If Bears Draft Misses a Few Spots

There will be life after the draft even if it is billed as the be-all end-all.

Even with 10 picks and two in four rounds, the Bears might not sufficiently cover every questionable area of their roster.

With a 3-14 record last year, there is plenty to cover.

The answer can be the free agent after-market. Some free agents with talent slip through unsigned to May every year and they have once again.

They can be costly but not nearly as much as if signed earlier. Teams have spent cap space and there simply isn't cash around to throw it around and outbid someone for players.

The Bears are better equipped than anyone to scoop up talent with the $30.3 million in effective cap space they have available starting draft week, according to Overthecap.com. No one is closer than $12 million to them in available effective cap space.

If they look around, they'll also find that almost all of top players in this group are at positions they need.

If the draft doesn't yield sufficient edge rush help, they could definitely find one among the hired gun types who every year seem to float from team to team providing sacks near the end of their careers.

Using NFL.com's list of top available free agents, nine of the top 10 and 14 of the top 16 are at positions of perceived Bears need.

Here are those available who best fit team needs. Then again, when you need so much, isn't every position one of need?

1. Edge Frank Clark

With several edge rushers available who might be better at piling up sacks, Clark is the better Bears fit because he plays both the run and pass, has won Super Bowl rings and has ties to Kansas City while Bears GM Ryan Poles was there. Clark, who was let go before free agency for cap purposes, has ideal size for a defensive end in this scheme, 6-foot-3, 272 pounds. The drawback on Clark is he was valued at $12.4 million a year by Spotrac.com. That was a while back when they assessed this amount. Things change. Pro Football Focus had projected $6.5 million a year. He was ranked 74th in the original PFF free agent rankings.

2. Edge Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney's pass-rushing ability has been on the decline. In the last four years he had only one over three sacks. It's still good enough that PFF projected him at $8 million a year. Clowney is the proverbial hired gun pass rusher, much like Yannick Ngakoue, but with the extra bonus that he does defend the run and made eight tackles for loss each of the last few years. He's pretty adept at coming off the backside to stop the back behind the line.

3. Edge Yannick Ngakoue

Ranked 62nd among free agents by PFF at the start of free agency, Ngakoue was projected at $12.5 million a year by PFF and $14.8 million by Spotrac.com. It would seem the Bears would take a pass on him unless the price comes tumbling down. The fact he came from the Colts doesn't matter much because he wasn't under coach Matt Eberflus and isn't necessarily an exact scheme fit. Ngakoue will get his sacks regardless of scheme. He has never had less than eight in a season. But he is a picky defensive eater. He doesn't play the run, just pass-rushes.

4. DT Poona Ford

Ford, who is 27, was the 98th-ranked PFF free agent and had market values of $7.5 million from PFF and $9.2 million from Spotrac.com. He would be a fit in the Bears scheme as he's been playing nose in Seattle's 4-3. At 5-11, 310, he's a bowling ball and tough to halt on the interior. However, if the Bears were going to spend that much for a nose tackle they would have done it already instead of signing Andrew Billings. He'd be a good fit if the aftermarket has loweredd his price greatly and if they don't draft someone to be a backup nose.

5. Edge Justin Houston

A 6-3, 270-pounder, this veteran just keeps on going at a ridiculously high level considering he is 34 now. As a result, he'd probably cost more than some other options as a rotational edge for pass rush situations. He did take a backup role, really, for the first time in his career last year and still made 9 1/2 sacks, or one less than the entire Bears defensive line—backups and starters. He fits in any kind of scheme, 3-4 or 4-3, and made 19 sacks in two seasons for Eberflus with the Colts in a role like the one they'd bring him in to play.

6. T Isaiah Wynn

This is rather surprising but he was rated No. 58 among free agents by PFF. It's surprising because he had a game last year against Cleveland where PFF graded him at 5.0 out of 100 for his pass blocking. Someone with a mark so low doesn't seem like they should be a sought-after free agent. However, he is because he's young and has had other seasons at a higher level. He was projected at $10.5 million a year. It's Wynn's health that seems to always be a question. He has never played a full season with 43 games played out of a possible 66. He has had a toe injury and two knee injuries, but a team in need of a promising, experienced tackle who can move a bit at 6-2,310 pounds, might want to look his way because he had overall grades of 74.9 in 2021 and 82.6 in 2020 from PFF.

7. CB Rock Ya-Sin

Ya-Sin's strength has been viewed as man coverage over the years, which doesn't make him a real fit for the Bears, except that he has extensive experience with the HITS principle in the Colts defense under Eberflus. He was ranked 43rd by Pro Football Focus initially and projected at $9 million a year.

His first three years and 29 starts came in Indianapolis under Eberflus.

8. Edge Carlos Dunlap

If the Bears wanted an edge who was more in tune with how to play end in their 4-3, Dunlap would rate over some other ends available like Leonard Floyd and Melvin Ingram. That's because he fits size-wise at 285 pounds. He had four sacks last year as a rotational edge for the Chiefs and got his ring, playing in 17 games with just two starts. He's the same age as Ingram but 35 pounds heavier and more able to stand up to the run.

9. T Donovan Smith

Smith still has years left at 30 years old this season following eight years. He's not totally unlike Riley Reiff was last year except a bit younger. Ranked 91st on the PFF free agent list, he was making $15.8 million a year ago and was projected by Spotrac at over $19 million before the Bucs cut him to clear away $10 million in cap space. PFF noted a big drop off in his run-blocking production last year but he only blocked on 275 rushing attempts and pass-blocked 633 times, which explains some of Tampa Bay's problems on offense last year. From 2015-18 the Bucs consistently had worse blocking grades from him than the Bears were getting from Charles Leno Jr. before parting ways with him.

10. T Cameron Fleming

If the Bears decided they needed a swing tackle behind their younger starters, he could fit and PFF projects only $2.5 million a year. At 6-foot-6, 325 pounds he doesn't seem ideally suited for wide zone but the Broncos used him as a more mobile tackle starter for only the second time in his career last year in 15 games.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Add us as a preferred source on Google