A simulated Chicago Bears draft for BearDigest looking at the possibility the Bears trade down one spot with Washington instead of taking Caleb Williams.
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00:00 The first part of the run up to the draft is over with and that is the senior bowl.
00:14 So it's time for Mock Draft 2.0 for Bear Digest and rather than just pick some players, we're
00:20 going to explore the hot topic of the day and that of course is Washington could make
00:26 an offer to the Bears that they can't refuse as they try to reunite Caleb Williams with
00:33 their possible offensive coordinator Cliff Kingsbury.
00:36 Personally I think that Williams is just the guy the Bears want and that they're just going
00:40 to simply take him.
00:41 But let's explore that for a minute and what the Bears could get in exchange if they decided
00:47 to trade down from number one in our Mock Draft 2.0.
00:52 The Bears sent the first pick to Washington and in return the commanders gave the Bears
00:56 a second pick.
00:57 Both of their second round picks, number 36 and 40, 40 was the pick for Montez Sweat that
01:03 the Bears sent them to begin with and also the fifth round pick that they have.
01:08 That's a pretty steep price but it's one the commanders want to pay if they want the guy
01:11 who is from their hometown playing quarterback.
01:14 After the selection of Williams by the commanders, the Bears are on the clock and Bear Digest
01:19 Mock Draft 2.0 for 2024.
01:24 Round one, number two, the Bears take Marvin Harrison Jr., the wide receiver from Ohio
01:28 State 6'3.5" 205 and he leaps like an Olympic high jumper but plays receiver like his dad
01:34 did.
01:35 He had 31 career touchdown catches in a program known for producing NFL wide receivers.
01:41 Probably the highest rated player on most draft boards.
01:46 Number nine in round two, the Bears take Laatu, the edge rusher from UCLA.
01:51 They had the choice here between Florida State's Jared Verse and Laatu and either one would
01:56 be fine but Laatu seems to be coming on strong at the senior bowl.
02:00 He was impressive.
02:01 He's a 6'4" 265 pounder.
02:03 He hit 24 career sacks, 23 and a half in the last two seasons.
02:08 A real pass rush technician.
02:14 Round two, number 36, one pick from the commanders that they got.
02:18 The Bears select their starting center of the future, Zach Frazier from West Virginia.
02:23 The 6'2" 306 pound mobile blocker who fits their wide zone blocking scheme better than
02:28 a 330 pounder would.
02:30 Mel Kiper has him listed third among centers but one of those, Graham Barton from Duke,
02:35 was already gone.
02:38 Round two, number 40, Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson.
02:41 He can play end or tackle so he's a good fit in the Bears scheme because they like to run
02:46 stoppers.
02:47 At 296 pounds, 6'4", Mel Kiper rates him the number two defensive end in this class but
02:54 he has played tackle much of the time.
02:56 He had eight and a half sacks, 14 tackles for a loss.
02:59 The Bears need to be better up front.
03:01 They need as many of these guys as they can get and Laatu alone won't do it.
03:05 Round three, number 75, safety Jordan Hicks of Washington State.
03:10 He needs position since it seems likely Eddie Jackson will be a cap casualty due to his
03:14 big salary.
03:16 Hicks has great height for a safety, 6'3", but he gets down low and sticks a tackle on
03:23 ball carriers in the run game or the pass game.
03:28 At this point I wanted a running back but all the backs keep being taken just before
03:32 the selection and so instead it was number 110, round four, Brendan Rice, the wide receiver
03:38 from USC.
03:40 Hicks, Jerry Rice's son.
03:41 He was Caleb Williams' top receiver.
03:45 He fell here to day three, 6'3", 205.
03:48 He played two years at Colorado then he had 84 catches for 1,402 yards in two years at
03:53 USC with 16 of his 21 touchdowns coming then.
03:58 Round four, number 122, another defensive lineman who fits perfectly with what the Bears
04:03 do, Michael Hall from Ohio State.
04:07 Justin Jones is a free agent and the Bears need another three technique and defensive
04:11 tackle.
04:12 He's a classic three technique, a little small at 6'2", 285.
04:16 He's close to Aaron Donald's size though at that position.
04:20 He had 10 tackles for loss and six sacks for the Buckeyes.
04:25 Round five, the final round and the Bears have picks and the first one that they took
04:30 here, no running backs again.
04:33 They weren't available.
04:35 Instead, it's linebacker Tommy Eichenberg from Ohio State.
04:38 They do need linebacker depth and he was a captain, an off-ball linebacker who's 6'2"
04:43 236 and he really hits.
04:45 He's good enough to challenge for Jack Sanborn's strong side spot.
04:49 Finally the last Bears pick in this mock draft and no, the running backs were not there.
04:53 They need a second or third tight end and it's Eric Aul from Iowa.
04:57 He also played at Michigan, two schools known for tight ends.
05:01 He made 75 career receptions for 864 yards and plays special teams as well.
05:07 So the Bears don't get that third running back.
05:09 They'll need to look at Dante Forman I guess or into the free agent market.
05:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]