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Double Deal for Bears in One Mock

The Athletic's Dan Brugler has the Bears looking for picks and not the No. 1 talent in the draft in his latest mock, much like in BearDigest's last mock draft.
Gene Chamberlain|
Double Deal for Bears in One Mock
Double Deal for Bears in One Mock

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Chicago Bears

The combine's end not only leads to a week of pre-free agency frenzy but also allows a good time for mock drafts.

NFL veteran Dan Brugler of The Athletic has the right idea with his post-combine mock draft in several ways.

Brugler has Ryan Poles seeing the virtues of numerous picks rather than one pass rusher at the top.

In his mock released on Tuesday, Brugler had the Bears trading down first with the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4 and then with the Carolina Panthers to No. 9.

Both are entirely realistic, especially now that Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson has moved into the picture as an early first-round possibility. The supply should be good enough for the Panthers to get the long-coveted young quarterback to build around if they move to No. 4, and the Bears do not necessarily need to get one of the top two defensive linemen because there is an ample supply to last until No. 9.

"By trading down twice, Chicago would own five picks in the top 64 this year (Nos. 9, 35, 53, 61 and 64) plus two additional first-rounders in the 2024 NFL Draft," Brugler pointed out.

The five early picks is important. The two first-round picks in 2024 could be more important if Justin Fields follows the Mitchell Trubisky script and struggles in Year 3. Then the Bears would be equipped to move up and possibly even get the first pick for Caleb Williams of USC in 2024.

Or, if Fields is a tremendous success as last year's advancement would suggest, they are will positioned to get possibly the best receiver in the draft, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr.

With the ninth pick, Brugler then has the Bears drafting Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness.

This is a scenario similar to BearDigest's mock draft 4.1 conducted Saturday, in which Van Ness became the first Bears pick of the draft at No. 8 in a trade with Atlanta, except this was a third trade down after Houston and then Indianapolis traded up with the Bears.

Either way, Brugler also points out the fact Van Ness dates Cole Kmet's sister, Frankie. It's certainly no reason for drafting someone but it is an amusing side note.

Tyree Wilson of Texas A&M would probably be a better fit even for the Bears but he'd be gone by No. 9 and how often does a team get an real opportunity to score so many draft picks with one move that doesn't really hurt them?

ESPN's draft expert Todd McShay released a post-combine mock and has the Bears trading down twice, as well. He had them trading with the Colts and Raiders, and then with the No. 7 pick taking Northwestern tackle/guard Peter Skoronski.

The mock train continues for CBS' four mock drafters as all four updated their mocks for Tuesday. Three of them—Josh Edwards, Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso—have the Bears winding up with defensive end Will Anderson Jr., though Edwards and Trapasso have it happening through a trade down with the Colts to No. 4 and Wilson by simply selecting him.

The fourth one is not one Bears fans will enjoy but it's Kyle Stackpole insisting they will draft Bryce Young first and presumably then trading Justin Fields, although this isn't explained.

NFL.com writer Lance Zierlein put out a mock with Anderson going to the Bears.

FanNation's NFL Draft Bible still has the Bears taking Jalen Carter No. 1 in a mock without trades, despite the legal issues facing the Georgia defensive tackle.

The NFL Mock Draft Data Base tracked 514 mock drafts on the internet through Monday and the Bears selected Will Anderson Jr. in 77% of those. Of interest here is that Jalen Carter now has dropped to a likely fifth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks and is rated the fourth-best player on the consensus of big boards followed. He had been No. 1 before the combine.

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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