The Chicago Bears Draft, and the Awesome Opportunities

Now that the dust is settling on the 2016 NFL regular season, fans of non-playoff teams can begin to look towards the offseason. Here we begin to look at the 2016 Chicago Bears draft.

Having only made the playoffs once in their last nine seasons, the Chicago Bears will be on the outside looking in once again. While in years past the season would have been a disappointment, this season feels different, as if the Bears are actually building towards something, and that optimism is carrying us towards the draft.

The next step in that building process is looking at the Chicago Bears draft. After Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions we now know where the Bears will the drafting, number 11.

According to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, the Chicago Bears have needs at quarterback, cornerback, left tackle, wide receiver, and their top need as a pass rusher.

The question is, which position has the biggest need, and who will be available at the 11th pick for the Bears to grab?

Lance lists theses prospects as possibilities:

Pass rusher
Shilique Calhoun (Michigan State)
Jordan Jenkins (Georgia)
Shawn Oakman (Baylor)

Quarterback
Connor Cook (Michigan State)
Jacoby Brissett (North Carolina State)
Carson Wentz (North Dakota State)
Cody Kessler (USC)

Cornerback
Maurice Canady (Virginia)
Danzel McDaniel (Kansas State)
Will Redmond (Mississippi State)

Offensive Tackle
Vadal Alexander (LSU)
Taylor Decker (Ohio State)
Spencer Drango (Baylor)

Guard
Landon Turner (North Carolina)
Joshua Garnett (Stanford)

Wide Receiver
D.J. Foster (Arizona State)
Sterling Shepard (Oklahoma)
Josh Doctson (TCU)

Only three of those prospects are slated to go in the first round, two of them quarterbacks (Cook and Wentz).

Pass rusher

In the Bears defense (3-4) they can create a pass rush from a number of areas. The three linemen, linebacker, and through confusion.

While NFL.Com writer, Zierlein, suggests this is the biggest need on the team, he doesn’t suggest that the Bears chase a pass rusher with their first pick.

CBS Sports Dane Brugler on the other hand disagrees. He directly calls for the Bears to address their pass rushing need with Myles Jack, a linebacker from UCLA.

Jack is a quick LB that can make an instant impact on a roster. Erik Lambert of NFL Mocks likens Jack to former Bears LB Lance Briggs, while I tend to see some Brian Urlacher in the youngster.

Jack is fast, has unbelievable coverage speed, and was often paired up against wideouts in college. While Urlacher was a safety converted to linebacker, Jack has the ability to become a linebacker that converts to safety (although highly unlikely).

Bleacher Report has also published a mock draft, and has the Bears selecting defensive end, Emmanuel Ogbah, from Oklahoma State.

Ogbah is considered to be the best defensive product to come from Oklahoma State in recent years, and that list includes guys like Kevin Williams and Antonio Smith. Lambert of NFL Mocks also lists these strengths for Emmanuel.

• Good eyes and awareness of where the ball is going. Rarely caught off guard by fakes or misdirections.
• Shows enough athleticism to warrant versatile use. Can play with his hand in the dirt but also rush from a two-point stance.
• Long arms that prove highly effective when he is able to get his hands extended.
• High motor. Rarely gives up on a play until the whistle.
• Power is evident in his upper body. Can really push blockers around when he can a mind to.

He seems like a guy that can excel in either a  4-3 or a 3-4, and is heavily compared to Michael Bennett (brother of the Bears Martellus Bennett).

Whichever path the Bears choose, you have got to put most of your money on Ryan Pace selecting a rusher in the upcoming draft.

Quarterback

It would be highly ironic if after the best year of Jay Cutler’s career, the Bears look for his replacement. How it might make sense is, the next could of years it is financially doable for the Bears to cut Cutler. Equally understandable is if the team were to draft another quarterback, allow him to study under Cutler and the coaching staff, and then cut Jay in 2017.

While sure this is certainly a path the team could take, it is highly unlikely (much to the chagrin of Lance Zierlein) that the Bears draft a quarterback in the first round.

That said, the top QB options in the first round for the Bears in the upcoming draft would be Connor Cook and Carson Wentz.

We do know that back in October Ryan Pace had visited a Michigan State game and watched Cook in action. Cook has the size (6-4 220 lb) to play the QB position in the NFL, he also has shown the ability to protect the football (only 22 interceptions).

While not throwing too many interceptions, he was rather inaccurate passer. Completing just 56% of his passes,  which was 89th in the country, which compares similarly to the Bears current signal caller (Cutler comelted 57% of his college passes).

Would Connor just be a newer shiner Cutler?

Perhaps the team looks towards Carson Wentz from North Dakota  State. Like Connor, Carson has the physical size to play the QB position (6-7 235 lb). He can also move well for a big guy, having rushed for 642 yards in his first full season as a starter — including two 100-yard games — he shows the ability to escape when needed.

While Carson might not be the prototypical scrambling QB, he has the ability to move around the pocket like Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisberger. We wont say he has the talent of an Aaron or Big Ben, but he could have the ability to extend plays like those two do.

Cason has shown the ability to complete passes at a higher rate, and has shown the ability to come through in the clutch moments of a game with several late fourth quarter scores.

Where people are afraid, even with his size, is if he can remain healthy. He is a bigger frame than Connor, but having only played in six ganes in 2015 because of a broken wrist. A guy that trusts his ability to move in the pocket, also subjects himself to hits other quarterbacks do not.

Ultimately, Ryan Pace and John Fox gave Jay Cutler a vote of confidence, even going to the point of saying they plan on building the offense around him. This calls into question if the team would seriously consider a QB in the first round (we do believe the team will draft a quarterback later in the draft).

Cornerback

While none of the CBs that NFL.com connected to the Bears are projected to go in the first round, Ryan Pace expressed his desire for more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. In particular, Pace wants players that can take away the ball, and the best place to take away balls is through the secondary.

Could a true shutdown corner like MacKensie Alexander entice the Bears? While he doesn’t have a ball hawking reputation, opposing QBs didn’t throw to his side of the field, and if there is a guy shutting down half the field it would allow the Bears pass rush to get to more quarterbacks.

Offensive Tackle

The Bears absolutely need to upgrade their offensive line. With Jermon Bushrod having an injury plagued season, the 31 year old is likely out of the Bears plans for the future.

“There just comes a certain point and time where the business side of this game will catch up to you,” Bushrod acknowledged. “Sometimes you might be put in situations or positions you don’t agree with, but at the end of the day, I was once in the same situation [with New Orleans].

“I dealt with the same stuff. I had to take over when an older guy went down. In this league, if you are fortunate enough to be a veteran, someone these guys look up to, you have to pay it forward.”

Even with Jared Leno playing well, and taking Bushrod’s job this season, the Bears desperately need a guy that will anchor the left tackle position for years to come.

Could Ohio State’s Taylor Decker be that guy?

NFL Mocks Sayre Bedinger has some high remarks for the Buckeye. Having a huge 6-7 (or 6-8) frame with long arms, Decker has the ability to limit the ways a pass rusher can attack him. His size becomes his greatest intangible skill, and luckily it isn’t something that was taught or that can become diminished through aging.

What is additionally impressive, Taylor has started every game Ohio State has played over the last three seasons, proving to be a highly durable blocker.  A blocker who has been a huge part of the puzzle in the nation’s best run offense over the past three seasons.

This is almost a finished product, and the only real weakness (which is completely fixable) is getting too high in his stance. As a big guy, he needs to keep a lower stance and center of gravity. If he gets too high in a stance, NFL linemen will certainly blow by him with no problems. This is easily coached, and of ALL the prospects talked about in this post, Taylor is the closest thing to a sure thing.

Wide receiver

The Bears saw what life without multiple talented wideouts is like in the NFL this season. While I was a Bears fan that agreed with trading away Brandon Marshall — just heard too many whispers about his unraveling of the locker room, which he still isn’t finished with (Alshon Jeffery) — the team was caught with their pants down when Kevin White went down for the year in preseason.

To top off White’s injury, Jeffery suffered multiple injuries, Eddie Royal (who was signed to be a No. 3) spent a large portion of the season on the injury list, Bennett was also out for multiple games, as well as Marquess Wilson was placed on IR.The Bears also have a huge decision to make on Alshon Jeffery and whether or not to bring back the talented receiver.

These factors could cause the Bears to draft another elite playmaker for the outside, or knowing that they have White and Wilson coming back, and they have the Franchise Tag that could be used on Jeffery, they should be set in 2016.

There are really only two receivers slotted (as of now) to go in the first round, and if Ryan Pace were to live by his word and take the best player available, one would think they look towards one of the many holes on the team and not receiver.

There will be a million mock drafts as we approach the 2016 NFL Draft, and while these predictions are typically fluid, the needs of the team do not change.  Expect the Bears to address each and every one of these needs by the time the 2016 season comes around, both through the draft as well as free agency.

It is the goal of the team to become more talented and younger, and even though we witnessed a 6-10 season in the Ryan Pace/John Fox era, most fans should be very optimistic about the future.

All contract figures come from Spotrac, additional sources include Chicago Tribune, ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and NFL Mocks