Photo by Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune
With three quarters of the season completed, the Chicago Bears hold a 3-10 record, currently on a six-game losing streak. But wins and losses are not top priority for the Bears. Like I’ve emphasized many times, it’s the growth and development of quarterback Justin Fields. And Fields has shown the potential he needed for General Manager Ryan Poles to go all-in for him.
Mohammed Jbara
Freelance Contributor
With this in mind, the Bears need a strong team to lift up Fields. Bears fans will have circled April 27th on their calendar. That is the day the Bears begin selecting their rookie class for the 2023 season. This is the first version of a mock draft that will bring the Bears’ championship window much closer.
As I’m writing this, the Bears hold the 2nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, along with seven other draft selections scattered around the seven round draft. Throughout this mock, I’m only going to highlight the players who will have a significant impact on the Bears next season. So let’s get started.
The Chicago Bears trade the 2nd overall pick to the Seattle Seahawks for the 4th overall pick, 16th overall pick, 34th overall pick, and a 2024 1st-round pick
Now you may be thinking: “That’s way too much for the Seahawks to give up just to move up two spots.”
However, the value of the second overall pick is immense. Especially if the second overall pick belongs to a team that already has a quarterback they’re building around like the Bears. Another thing to note is that the Seahawks have multiple first round picks for the next few years.
The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the NFC this year. Many expected them to be in the same position as the Bears after trading star quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos for multiple picks. Well this season resulted in the complete opposite.
The Broncos are struggling and the Seahawks are rolling with quarterback Geno Smith. He’s a known journeyman in the NFL who has played for multiple teams. Although Smith has played way better than anticipated, he’s not the future for the Seahawks.
The top two prospects in this draft are quarterbacks CJ Stroud from Ohio State and Bryce Young from Alabama. That’s why the second-pick is so valuable for the Bears. Teams will trade a fortune to land their future franchise quarterback. In this scenario, it’s the Seahawks that the trade must be with.
With the 4th overall pick, the Chicago Bears select Will Anderson, Jr., defensive end, Alabama
To put it in simple terms, Anderson is the scariest player in college football. For the Alabama Crimson Tide, across three seasons — bear in mind the 2022 season is still in progress — Anderson had 34.5 sacks. He already has 10 sacks this season.
In this draft class, one could argue he’s the best player. We’re talking about Will Anderson being a generational talent at his position.
Putting it into perspective the Bears have sacked the opposing QB 16 times. Their lead sacker is rookie safety Jaquan Brisker with 3. It’s safe to say the Bears need a pass rush and Anderson could be the most feared upcoming defensive end in the league.
With the 16th overall pick, the Chicago Bears select Peter Skoronski, offensive tackle, Northwestern
What have Bears fans been crying about since the season has started? The offensive line is “going to get Justin Fields killed.” Current left tackle Braxton Jones has played to expectations so far this season. He was a fifth round draft pick in the 2022 draft. That means his expectations were to be average at best. And he’s just that.
Skoronski has been one of the best offensive linemen in college so far, allowing 0 sacks in the 2022 season. In this mock draft he fell to the 16th overall pick, which isn’t likely, but if I’m the Bears and he’s still available at 16, there’s no question about it.
With the 55th pick, the Chicago Bears select Jalin Hyatt, wide receiver, Tennessee
In the Bears’ last draft, they selected Velus Jones Jr. out of Tennessee in the third round. That experiment didn’t go as planned. However, this time may be different. Hyatt is the type of receiver the Bears need. He’s a fast route runner that can get open on the deep ball facing the opposing team’s second best defensive back most of the time.
Hyatt has 1,267 receiving yards along with 15 touchdowns for the Volunteers this season. That includes his monster game against Alabama where he had 6 catches for 207 yards and five touchdowns.
With him taking the responsibility of being the number two receiver for Fields, this allows Bears receiver Darnell Mooney to play the slot position/third wide receiver role, where I believe he can hurt teams the most.
With the 152nd pick, the Chicago Bears select Jayden Reed, wide receiver, Michigan State
With the state of the Bears wide receiver room in the 2022 season, it’s safe to say the more pass catchers on the team the better. Jayden Reed at 152 (the fifth round) is going to be a great find for the Bears.
In the 2022 season, while battling injuries, he only has 636 receiving yards and five touchdowns. However in 2021, he had an amazing year with 1,026 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
He’s a shifty receiver that is a deep threat as well. He’s someone Fields would love to get on the opposite end of his throws. Although it was a different regime, when was the last time the Bears drafted a receiver in the fifth round? Darnell Mooney in 2020.
Taking a chance on Reed could be the best decision a team can make.
At the beginning, the Bears had a total of eight picks in the 2022 draft. After the trade with Seattle, they’d have 10, along with a 2024 first round pick. In the first round, the Bears get their future pass rusher and offensive tackle for years to come. And throughout the draft, additional needs are filled in as well.
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