I liked Windy's mock draft and decided to use it as a starting point. I went with athletic freaks with or without production with the belief that the Bears coaches could teach the nuances of the positions whereas the athletic abilities are either there or not. I will only add comments if my pick is different than Windy's picks.
Round 1
1[1] Cleveland Browns: QB Sam Darnold [USC]
1[2] NY Giants: DE Bradley Chubb [North Carolina St]
1[3] NY Jets [Ind]: QB Josh Allen [Wyoming]
1[4] Cleveland Browns [Hou]: RB Saquan Barkley [Penn St]
1[5] Denver Broncos: QB Josh Rosen [UCLA]
1[6] Indianapolis Colts [NYJ]: OG Quenton Nelson [Notre Dame]
1[7] Buffalo Bills [TB]: QB Baker Mayfield [OU]
1[8] OLB Marcus Davenport [UTSA] 6'6" 254lbs, 33.5" arms, 4.58 [40], 22 reps, 33.5" vert, 10'4" broad, 7.2 cone
I think that Davenport fills the Bears biggest need, he meets the size and length requirements of the position for Fangio, and has the athletic upside that the Bears look for in the 1st round. Davenport comes from a lower level of competition, but when he is on he can be dominant. During the Senior Bowl week Davenport started slowly, by the end of the week and in the game he was dominating. Davenport uses his height and length very well to long arm the OT and work his way to the QB. He flashes closing speed and the power to work through the OT into the pocket. Davenport needs a consistent move and counter move to develop, he needs to consistently play with lower pad level, and he needs to continue to work on consistently threatening OT every play. The skills are there and with Lynch starting Davenport does not need to come in and start right away. He can play in a rotation while he develops. Davenport also has the size and power to set the edge and play the strongside OLB across from Floyd.
*Trade: The Chicago Bears trade 2[39] to the San Francisco 49ers for 2[59] and 3[70]. The 49ers select WR Courtland Sutton [SMU]. The Bears have traded down in the 2nd round both of the last couple of seasons and it is rumored that Pace would really like to add back the 3rd round pick he lost in the Trubisky trade.
2[59] OG Tyrell Crosby [Oregon] 6'5" 309lbs, 34" arms, 17 reps, 30" vert, 8'9" broad
Both Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy come from systems where they convert college OTs in to OGs. In New Orleans they did this with Jahri Evans, Carl Nicks and Andrus Peat with great success. In KC they did this with Mitch Morse, Laurent Dunleavy-Tardif, Bryan Witzman, and Jordan Devey. This gives them tall, athletic, long arm pass blockers on the inside and seems to be a trend continued in Chicago with Cody Whitehair and Jordan Morgan. The Bears know Crosby through Helfrich and while he has been a stand out OT I think with his size and power he could be a tremendous LG that can play OT in a pinch. Crosby won a ton of awards at Oregon and he had a strong Senior Bowl week, but he is not the most fleet of foot player and probably is a RT in the NFL if he stays on the outside. What he does possess is an incredibly powerful punch and long arms and a strong base if he can set his feet and is not worried about edge speed. I think Crosby can come in and immediately be the front runner for the LG spot.
3[70] DT P. J. Hall (Sam Houston State) 6' 1" 310lbs, 4.67[40], 36 reps, 38" vert, 9'8" broad
Yes, these numbers are real. The thing is, he is not just a workout warrior. In his 4 year college career, he had 82.5 TFL, 42 sacks, and 14 blocked kicks including 2 punts. He played DE and DT. Fango would love the versatility and production that he would bring. He is a high motor player which can be seen in the video below (watch him run down a current NFL RB at the 2.35 mark).
[video]https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2739254/5792e734eae10c43e0023569[/video]
4[105] LB Genard Avery [Memphis] 6'1" 255lbs, 4.59 [40], 26 reps, 36" vert, 10'4" broad
The depth at ILB is questionable, with the primary backup right now being John Timu. The Bears need to add a player that can come in and compete for the primary backup role and be a special teams stand ouot. Avery is a big, physically imposing ILB that if you watch for a couple of minutes tries to destroy human life when he is on the field. He is a shockingly good athlete for a big ILB and he has the athletic ability to play 3 downs if needed. At a minimum in 2018 he is an intriguing depth option and a guy who should be a core special teamer. There is starting upside here down the road if Kwait struggles or Trevathan gets injured.
4[115] OLB/ILB Shaquem Griffin [UCF] 6' 1" 227lbs, 4.37 [40], 20 reps, 9'75" broad
With extreme speed and extreme production in college, Shaquem is a major wildcard player for Fangio. He has excellent instincts and CB coverage skills. With his speed, he is a nightmare for offensive linemen to block him. He is also a leader with his inspiring story. Imagine players dogging it while Shaquem is there giving his all.
5[115] OLB Ade Aruna [Tulane] 6'6" 262lbs, 34" arms, 4.6 [40], 18 reps, 38.5" vert, 10'8" broad, 7.53 cone
The Bears go back to the well and give Vic Fangio another 6'6" super athlete that he can hopefully mold into a contributing pass rusher and a rotational player at some point in 2018. Aruna is a freak. Running a 4.6 and jumping 39" at 260lbs is incredible and while there are a ton of rough edges he checks every single physical box that the Bears are looking for at the position. Fangio needs to coach him up, but this at least gives the Bears another option with upside that they can turn to if injuries strike. Aruna also gives them a monster of a human being by special teams standards. The Bears have not had someone one special teams with his size and athletic ability since Israel Idonije was escorting Devin Hester to the endzone multiple times.
6[181] WR Jester Weah [Pitt] 6'2" 211lbs, 4.43 [40], 15 reps, 38" vert, 10'9" broad
The Bears need some WR depth and options that do not include going to the street or the practice roster. Weah has the size and elite explosive athletic ability that Nagy had in KC. Weah is not a polished WR, but in 2 seasons at Pitt he averaged 24 ypc and 17 ypc with a long of 75 yards in both season. Weah is a big play threat and someone who can run by defense. He would offer a speed option in Gabriel went down and some who situationally could be used to take a deep shot or take the top off a defense. The Bears do not really have a 4th WR once White gets injured and they cannot expose Trubisky again with a lack of depth.
7[224] OT Jordan Mailata [Rugby Player] 6' 8" 345lbs, 5.12 [40]. 22 reps
Jordan right now is just a battering ram which is perfect for short yardage and kickoff return situations. With the best offensive line coach in the universe, he is a perfect pupil for him to mold into a RT in a year or two.
