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Reacting to Every Bears Pick in Dane Brugler's 7-Round Mock Draft

The Athletic's top draft expert has Ryan Poles being very thorough in later rounds when it comes to addressing a few of the most drastic needs.
Gene Chamberlain|
Florida center Jake Slaughter is one of the answers The Athletic's Dane Brugler has for the Bears in his seven-round mock.
Florida center Jake Slaughter is one of the answers The Athletic's Dane Brugler has for the Bears in his seven-round mock. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Teams with real holes in their roster need to address those rather than stick to the old "best available player."  

Best available is merely a luxury, even if GMs don't want to admit it. Give any of them a real roster deficiency, and suddenly "best available" conveniently meets up their major needs.

Well-respected NFL draft expert Dane Brugler of The Athletic came up with his full seven-round mock draft, and in it he has not only met Bears needs with top talent but addressed it very thoroughly with a few picks to cover those holes. Perhaps the best-available attitude of Ryan Poles can meet up with those gaps in a way that Brugler has.

Edge Rusher

Brugler perfectly addressed the team's lack of an edge rusher with the first pick at No. 25 with Clemson's T.J. Parker. With this pick, the Bears would be getting an edge who actually did make sacks in college with 21 1/2.

The player Brugler picked isn't ideal size, like Auburn edge Keldric Faulk is, but at 6-3 1/2, 263 pounds he is within the size guidelines for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's scheme. Parker is a better fit than even Austin Booker was at 245 pounds, although Booker has made great strides.

Brugler didn't see them getting the chance to take Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who went one pick earlier. So, their biggest lineup need went unaddressed but this would be an ideal addition on the edge and a solid piece in their pass rush rotation. They already have a bigger edge in Dayo Odeyingbo, once he has healed from an Achilles tear. Getting someone who can actually rush the passer as an edge rusher might be a good thing.

Defensive tackle

The interior run defense needs a boost. If they're not going to trade for Dexter Lawrence, a real option is the guy with possibly the best nickname in this draft. Brugler had the Bears select "Big Citrus," Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange in Round 2.

While this definitely would improve their run defense, a 6-2 1/2, 322-pound defensive tackle isn't physically along the lines of what Allen's defense has been about. A heavier and shorter interior player is a step in the wrong direction. Versatility is the key word in what Allen seeks with interior defensive linemen. They needed to stop the run and push back the pocket.

What about Big Citrus as a pass rusher?

"Has been a non-factor as a pass rusher," commented NFL.com's draft expert Lance Zierlein.

It's not a good use of No. 57 in this draft.

The good thing with Brugler's draft is he devoted two picks to defensive tackle, although the second one is way back in Round 7. He had them take Washington's Anterio Thompson with their last pick in Round 7, No. 241 overall.

This would be a solid pick for so late in the draft. It's someone to bring along at the position because of his athletic ability and size. His weight (306) is perfect for the scheme and his height (6-4) lets him disrupt with tipped passes. A 9.38 relative athletic score based partly on his 4.73 40 from the Washington pro day means he's an agile contributor along the front.

Thompson, who was at both Iowa and Western Michigan before Washington, didn't play a lot. He was in only 20 games against Big Ten teams. He had 2 1/2 sacks, four tackles for loss and four pass deflections.

He'd be a project, but that's what Round 7 is about, and he is a player who attracted Bears interest.

Center

The need for someone who takes over from bridge center Garrett Bradbury led Brugler to take two players. Who can blame him? This is an important role, though not quite as urgent as some others. He took Jake Slaughter of Florida in Round 3 at No. 89 and then Kentucky's Jager Burton in Round 7. The team has shown interest in Burton, while Slaughter is highly regarded by Mel Kiper Jr. as his top center for this draft. Pro Football Focus has him No. 2 among centers and grades him about where the Bears took him in this mock, at No. 90.

Burton has attracted plenty of attention in this run up to the draft. It might be wishful thinking for him to be available at No. 239, but the concept is correct by Brugler. Get more than one player to address the problem.

The Bears had Casey Wiegmann in 1997 and it didn't stop them from drafting eventual six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz. Wiegmann eventually was traded after he played well for them and had a 15-year career with one Pro Bowl.

In Burton's case, he can play guard as well as center so he helps provide depth.

Safety

While Brugler had the right idea in Round 2, he missed on the player at No. 60 overall by taking South Carolina's Jalen Kilgore as a safety.

Kilgore was a college slot cornerback. Now, it is true Allen likes converting DBs to fit his need, but Kilgore appears too big to be an effective slot cornerback in the NFL. So safety might look like a good place for him. Kilgore is definitely a safety's size at 6-1, 211, but he hasn't excelled in pass coverage enough in numerous opportunities to play in the box in college.

He had 157 box snaps and 497 as a slot cornerback. He was graded only 538th out of 897 college cornerbacks last year in coverage, and his grade overall was the same number (69.7) as in his previous season. They'd be taking a third- or fourth-round player at No. 60 with this pick.

Cornerback

The selection of Ephesians Prysock from Washington is one made with a real purpose in mind. That is to have a replacement for Tyrique Stevenson should he A) leave after this season as a free agent, or, B) suffer more inconsistency. Brugler's pick is an excellent choice for Day 3 of the draft because Prysock has a unique trait that makes him a desired player. He is a 6-foot-3 1/2 cornerback, almost as tall as Nahshon Wright was for them last year.

He had production, ranking No. 180 out of 897 PFF cornerbacks graded in coverage, and was 78th as a run defender.

There wouldn't be as much gnashing of teeth over the loss of Wright with Prysock as a cornerback candidate. They would have speedy Zah Frazier, a fifth-round pick last year, and Prysock to challenge Stevenson if he falters, and then possibly be ready to take the job in 2027.

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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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