Hell Freezes Over as Bears Claim #1 Draft Grade

The Chicago Bears 2018 draft looked like and felt like a success. Yes, we get it. The games must be played before it can be definitively stated whether a class is a success or not. Still, there was a general feeling they did well in 2016 too. Since then Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair, and Jordan Howard have all become productive starters for the team. Given the knowledge available today, the likelihood of being completely wrong in such cases are rare. Thus the buzz around this latest group continues to build. Of course, most Bears fans believe that's only the case in the immediate Chicago area. For years they've had to hear it from the national media. Those lukewarm responses and lack of respect. To be fair having no winning record since 2012 can do that. Nonetheless, they've grown used to not expecting much from the national guys when it comes to any and all things Chicago. It appears that might be changing. Not only is the class being recognized as good, NFL.com even took it a step further.

Chicago Bears 2018 draft reigns supreme in NFL.com rankings

Gennaro Felicie and Nick Shook took on the task of ranking every draft class for all 32 teams this year. The usual populars were there. The Dallas Cowboys at #2, the Denver Broncos at #4, and the Baltimore Ravens at #7. Yet that wasn't the big shock of the list. It was the Bears sitting there all by their lonesome at #1.

"The Bears maintained this game plan in the draft -- well, after No. 8 overall, when they acquired their defensive Mitchell Trubisky, Roquan Smith. (The inside linebacker's a perfect quarterback for Vic Fangio's defense, boasting the versatile skill set and football IQ today's NFL teams crave in second-level defenders.) After that, Ryan Pace went back to pampering his 23-year-old signal-caller. Daniels, an interior O-lineman who spent much of the pre-draft process as a first-round mock mainstay, feels like a steal at No. 39. And Miller instantly becomes a favorite of anyone who popped in his tape, as a hyper-competitive playmaker who gets absolutely everything out of his 5-11, 201-pound frame. Yeah, life is good these days for "The Pretty Boy Assassin," who's being put in prime position for a breakout sophomore campaign. One note on the Day 3 haul: Nichols was a small-school favorite of Draft Twitter, especially after his fine showing at the East-West Shrine Game. Sleeper potential."

The true strength of this class comes with the first three picks of Smith, Daniels and Miller. All three are considered Day 1 starters who not only can play but play well. We're talking Pro Bowl potential right off the bat. That's exceedingly rare for a draft class and a testament to the job done by GM Ryan Pace. If this group can live up to the hype, that winning drought will be over. Then the Bears can start thinking about bigger goals.