Updated Odds On Players Most Likely To Be Drafted By Bears At #3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZMSZFpC2_Y&t=91s

Reuben Foster (100-1)

Among the Chicago Bears draft targets, he's the most old school. Foster is probably the best linebacker in the draft. A true smart, instinctive and physical hunter. He loves to punish ball carriers who have the audacity to come in his vicinity. The Bears have lingering question marks at inside linebacker after all. Jerrell Freeman is getting into his 30s. Danny Trevathan has a concerning knee issue. Why not look for a young option like Foster to protect against a possible breakdown? That would've been an interesting idea. Unfortunately Foster hurt himself with two big blunders at the scouting combine. First by getting into a heated confrontation with medical staff there, and then by failing a drug test. Add in the fact that inside linebackers don't go in the top five of a draft and it's just unlikely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uD_FOOHy7I

Myles Garrett (90-1)

Oh to dream. There is no question that Myles Garrett is the best prospect in the draft. A potential Hall of Fame-caliber talent who should be good for 10 sacks every year. He's that gifted. Try to imagine what it might be like to see him rushing across from Leonard Floyd. Quarterbacks would quake in fear. There can't be any doubt the Bears are interested. Unfortunately it's never that easy. Even if by some miracle the Cleveland Browns pass on him at #1 overall, the odds are just as long that the 49ers would do the same at #2. The only way it happens is if both teams go for quarterbacks. Possible but far from likely. If it happens? Pace might break an ankle running to turn the card in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8tf0eXBURo

Patrick Mahomes (65-1)

There is just something about him. It's not a question to anyone that Patrick Mahomes has the best arm in the 2017 draft. That's been proven clear enough. What makes him so fun to watch is the creativity in his game. He just finds a way to make things happen. Sure people will classify him as a gunslinger but he fits the profile in the best way possible. He is the guy a team can hitch their wagon to and expect to be in every game. That said his raw fundamentals as a pocket passer, the lack of winning at Texas Tech and borderline reckless style isn't likely to appeal to Fox. He's a coach who wants the quarterback to direct the football game. After two years of watching another free-wheeler in Jay Cutler, it's hard to imagine Chicago scooping up somebody cut from a similar mold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1I32dEDZT8

Jonathan Allen (40-1)

He was the favorite pick for many. Easy to see why. Alabama had a great defense the past two years and it was Jonathan Allen who was often the man who paced them. He's a big, tough and strong defensive lineman that just knows what he's doing on each and every snap. Stop the run? He can do it. Rush the passer? He can do that too. The problem is there may be limitations to his ceiling. Not only did he showcase average athleticism at the scouting combine, it was made worse by the fact that he was diagnosed with arthritis in both his shoulders. This due to previous injuries he suffered. It's hard to imagine the Bears will make him the pick given those drawbacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDD2R02Qcdo

Marshon Lattimore (35-1)

Having a true cover corner that a team can leave on the boundary to guard any receiver they choose is a luxury the Bears haven't had since Charles Tillman left. They can be so valuable to the success of a defense. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knows this, which is why the team has invested so much in corners over the past couple months. Marshon Lattimore though is more talented than all of them. He's a freak athlete with size, speed, and quickness who can stay in the hip pocket of any receiver he lines up against. So why no love? Health concerns. Lattimore had hamstring problems during his time at Ohio State. Given the problems Chicago had with injuries last year, this isn't a risk they'll be willing to take. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4q7edDLXQE

Mitch Trubisky (25-1)

In terms of pure talent and scheme fit, the argument can be made that Mitch Trubisky is the best option for the Bears at quarterback. He exhibits many of the same attributes as Brian Hoyer, just significantly more talented. Considering how prepared the team was to go with Hoyer as starter before he got hurt last season, it's not hard to see a connection. Word has persisted that the Bears really like Trubisky. How much is a matter of debate. Enough to take him #3 overall? Well one can definitely say the team has prepared for such a move. They signed Mike Glennon to be the starter this year and Mark Sanchez with all his experience and talent for mentoring younger players. Trubisky only started 13 games at North Carolina, so having those two to show him the ropes would be a brilliant move. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1WBK7tUfFc

Malik Hooker (15-1)

What makes Malik Hooker, another safety, more likely an option than Adams? The simple fact that he checks more boxes. Hooker is not only bigger, but he's faster on tape with some of the best ball skills seen at that position in years. He started just one season for Ohio State but managed to snag seven interceptions and return three for touchdowns. He is everything the Bears have wanted at the position. Hooker is rare. Players with his skill set don't come around often. That makes taking him at #3 more viable. The Bears know there is no way they somebody like him later in the draft or in many drafts to come. He fits that profile of "impact" guy that Pace said he wants, and at a position the team has been weak for years. The tricky part is defensive backs almost never go in the top three, and Hooker is also rehabbing from injuries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGcdhi115LE&t=39s

Deshaun Watson (12-1)

If one were to go just by the words from Ryan Pace himself, then there is no debate here. Dashaun Watson should be the QB pick for the Bears. He fits most of the criteria favored. He's got a clean background. He lost just two games in two years, elevated his program to new heights and earn sky high marks for his leadership and competitiveness. To top it off he's a good athlete too, able to escape trouble and pick up yards on his own. Critics continue to hammer his limited arms strength and streaky ball placement. Fair points but at the end of the day Watson proved even the best defenses in the country couldn't stop him when it mattered most. What else does he have to do to prove? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZLRcZlra6A

Jamal Adams (8-1)

A definite favorite of many mock drafters out there. The reasoning is easy enough to understand. Jamal Adams is one of the best defensive backs in the class. He's big, tough, aggressive and a leader on the field. Somebody who will set the tone for games. Given how hard up the Bears have been at safety for the past decade, taking somebody like him would make plenty of sense in context. Problem is there just really isn't a lot special about him. He's a good athlete (not a great one) who becomes a top player thanks to his intelligence and work ethic. Is he truly a difference-maker though? It's hard to feel that way. He only had five interceptions in three seasons for LSU. Will he be a leader? Absolutely, but the Bears don't just need leaders. They need playmakers. So it's difficult to see him going at #3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoJP2nFFH_k

Solomon Thomas (2-1)

This might surprise some people but it really shouldn't. At the end of the day most teams go with a player in the top five they feel has the best shot to have a productive, long NFL career. Somebody who can impact games. Solomon Thomas is that sort of player. He's a pass rusher, so that means a pick that high would be warranted. He has no injury history and squeaky clean character questions. To top it off he's a Chicago native and comes from Stanford, a place where Vic Fangio was defensive coordinator in 2010. So he'd have a good idea of the player type he'd be getting. Thomas didn't have many of the advantages guys like Adams, Hooker and Allen did in the Big 10 and the SEC. He wasn't surrounded by great talent, but he dominated anyway. That's a testament to what he can do. So imagine if he's in the same front seven with Leonard Floyd, Pernell McPhee and Akiem Hicks.