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Mock Receiver Help for Bears

Wide receivers can be found beyond the first round in this draft and a few options have been uncovered by mocks.
Gene Chamberlain|
Mock Receiver Help for Bears
Mock Receiver Help for Bears

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Chicago Bears

Mock drafts continue to expand into later rounds and in some cases the Bears have more on their projected minds than defensive linemen.

CBS veteran writer Ryan Wilson conducted a mock draft released Sunday and in it had Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr. going to the Bears with the first pick—probably not the wrong decision when they are down to two viable defensive ends on the roster, neither with more than three sacks last year.

However, it was in the second round where Wilson found an interesting and new pick for the Bears at No. 53. This was a draft without trades, and with the second-round pick Wilson had the Bears select Cincinnati wide receiver Tyler Scott.

At the time, they passed on Old Dominion guard Nick Saldiveri and USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu as well as Illinois cornerback Jartavius Martin to do it.

Scott is a prototypical small slot receiver who is 5-foot-11, 171 pounds. He's about the same size as Darnell Mooney and made 87 receptions for 1,439 yards with 14 touchdowns in three seasons for the Bearcats.

Scott's speed is expected to be 4.45 seconds in the 40 according to Walterfootball.com. As a smaller slot receiver, his time in the 40 and the three-cone will be important at the combine on Feb. 27.

Whether the Bears would actually go for a smaller slot receiver is the real question. 

The first thing they did was start bulking up at receiver because of the emphasis on blocking by receivers in the run and pass for Luke Getsy's system. They even had Mooney  doing it so well he ranked among the league's 25 best pass blocking receivers according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF also had receiver in mind for the Bears, although not in a mock per se but in an article about the best late round and early round fits for the Bears in this draft, written by Trevor Sikkema.  

The early pick is easy enough. Jalen Carter is the fit, although some rethinking might be in order because they have since cut defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and might be more in need of an end.  

The late-round fit is seen as Xavier Hutchinson, a wide receiver from Iowa State who sounds like more of a Luke Getsy receiver than Scott, the Cincinnati receiver.

Hutchinson is 6-2, 203. His strength is viewed as route running and NFL Draft Bible says he is adept at planting his foot and cutting. Also, as a bigger receiver, it's good to note NFLDB saw him battling through contact well at the line of scrimmage.

The other strength Hutchinson has is jump ball situations. He is said by NFLDB to turn the 50-50 catch into a 60-40 catch.

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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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