Here's something not enough people are talking about. Right now there are two schools of thought regarding the
Chicago Bears draft. Either they will package picks to move up in the 1st round to select a quarterback. Or they'll stay put at #20 overall and take the best player on the board. Yet are things ever that simple with Ryan Pace? So here's another question that must be asked.
Is it possible the Bears have certain players who aren't QBs they'd still move up for?
One shouldn't forget Pace's track record. Before his well-documented jump from #3 to #2 in 2017 for Mitch Trubisky, he went from #11 to #9 for Leonard Floyd in 2016. He traded up for Anthony Miller in 2018 and then David Montgomery in 2019. This GM is clearly about quality in the draft and not quantity. If he sees a player he covets within reach, he'll go get him.
Especially when his job might be on the line.
So perhaps it's best not to have just the quarterbacks in mind for this draft. There is a distinct possibility they could move up for other players too. It comes down to the right one being available. That leads to the obvious next question. Who are the prospects the Bears might have circled on their board they'd move up for?
To answer that, it's first important to establish their most pressing needs. Excluding quarterback. When looking at their depth chart, three areas stand out the most. First is offensive tackle. Remember Charles Leno and Germain Ifedi are both in the final year of their respective deals. Then there is wide receiver. Allen Robinson
still has no long-term extension and Anthony Miller is on the trade block. Lastly comes cornerback what will Kyle Fuller having just been released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcKtEIsOcYk
Chicago Bears draft options they'd move up for
Jaylen Waddle (WR, Alabama)
What do we know about head coach Matt Nagy? He wants to throw the ball and he wants to throw the ball deep. He believes in the vertical strike. That is why he has coveted receivers with speed pretty much since he arrived in Chicago. First with the signing of Taylor Gabriel and then the drafting of Darnell Mooney. Nagy wants to stretch the field as much as possible. More big plays equal good things.
Waddle would be his dream scenario. He's already been compared to Kansas City Chiefs star speedster Tyreek Hill, who you might remember Nagy coached for a few years. The size is similar along with the legitimate game-breaking speed. If that weren't bad enough? He's a sharp route runner too, making it even more difficult to cover him. The idea of pairing him with Mooney has to get that draft room excited.
Rashawn Slater (OT, Northwestern)
A franchise left tackle is hard to find. The Bears should know this. They haven't had one since Jimbo Covert retired in the early 1990s. Since then they've made do with a series of veterans and moderately okay draft picks. The latest being Charles Leno. Though average in every way, he's held the job down since 2015. Not bad for a 7th round pick. Still, the Bears know they can do better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z46E_aEZhi0&ab_channel=RSHighlightsRSHighlights
If any team has the most information on Slater, it's them. He was in their backyard at Northwestern for years. Most of the league is only now figuring out the guy is a beast. Arguably the best pass protector in the draft. So smooth. So efficient and reliable. People keep raising concerns about his average arm length. If that gets him to drop, the Bears would gladly make those teams pay for that mistake.
Jaycee Horn (CB, South Carolina)
Losing Fuller really hurts. Not just because he was their best cornerback but because he was one of their best stories. Overcoming what looked like a career-killing knee injury to make himself an All-Pro? Great stuff. Sadly the business of football always gets in the way. Yet Pace had fair reasons to make him the casualty. A draft class that appears quite strong at cornerback.
One of the best among
them is Horn. Being the son of a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, it's obvious the kid has football in his blood. Size? Athleticism? Speed? Confidence? Instincts? He checks all the boxes. This is a guy who has the look and feels of a lockdown corner in the NFL. Somebody who can travel with the best receivers. The idea of pairing him with
Jaylon Johnson for years to come would certainly be something too good for the Chicago Bears draft room to pass up.
