End of Season Mock and General Mock Draft Conclusions

College football and the NFL Draft

Moderator: wab

Post Reply
The Kaiser
Pro Bowler
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2016 2:49 pm
Has thanked: 62 times
Been thanked: 128 times

Hi Folks--

It's been a very long time since posting on a Bears forum. There's a few out there I still know from days gone by so hey to you all...

Like most reading this, I have been hitting the mock draft sites (Fanspeak and The Draft Network) quite a bit and done a fair bit of player research over the last few months.

I just wanted to share what I suspect will be my favorite (and final) mock. As I describe my selections, I also want to share some overall draft philosophies that I've gleaned from doing so many mocks and why I think this makes the most sense.

So, here goes.

Mock: Fanspeak.
Bigboard: On The Clock Composite Bigboard
Team Needs: User Voted
Difficulty: Hard

Round 3, Pick 87: Amani Hooker, S/NB, Iowa
Round 4, Pick 126: Devin Singletary, RB, FAU
Round 5, Pick 163: Dru Samia, G, Oklahoma
Round 7, Pick: 222: Trevon Wesco, TE, West Virgina
Round 7, Pick: 238: Justin Hollins, EDGE, Oregon

3rd Round, Pick 87: Unless Josh Jacobs is still on the board, I think it would be a mistake to take RB in this round. I firmly believe you need to be looking for an EDGE contributor you really like or a potential future starting DB or interior o lineman. I will point out that ALL Of the RB's other than Jacobs were still undrafted here at 87. That may not sound feasible but I believe it is absolutely the likely situation. There will be a run on RB's but there is so much depth and the players are so near each other that I don't see anyone starting that run until the 4th round (see below re pick 126.)

The EDGE player I've taken most at 87 in other mocks is D'Andre Walker out of Georgia. Whenever he's still on the board, I snag him. I love his potential role on the Bears. He wasn't there so I went for Hooker. Why?

I think the Bears have a 2 year super bowl window behind this defense. The biggest risk right now is the lack of quality depth behind Ha Ha Clinton Dix and Buster Skrine. They're the two starters we're not sure about. There's a lot of good tape showing Hooker play great at S and then move to play nickel including a strong performance vs. Miss State in the Outback Bowl this year. He was the Big 10 DB of the Year for a reason: He's got incredible instincts. He's a team leader in the locker room. He's a sure tackler, a blitzer, a hard hitter, he stays healthy. The big concern was his speed and athleticism going into the combine. He put that to rest.

Basically, I've watched all the game tape available and I love the guy. I think this Chicago bloggernailed it. The guys over at Draft Network rated Hooker behind Savage and Thornbill but they also said this: "Hooker's coverage instincts in zone are thrilling. He baits quarterbacks into poor decisions and splits route combinations naturally -- just a great feel for the middle of the field. He projects nicely as a do-it-all box guy to pair with an all-range deep guy (like Deionte Thompson, for example)."

Of course, I'm not thinking about Dionte Thompson, I'm thinking of a future pairing with that other rangey Alabama pro bowl Free Safety in the NFL--#39

Our 4th Rounder-- Pick 126: In my view. This is the round to take a RB. There are many, maybe even a majority, of the mocks that I've run where you could easily wait until the 5th and still get a quality RB. However, I think you need to move here at this pick, esp if you have a preference.

As mentioned, only one RB was drafted before pick 87 (Josh Jacobs) and one after the 87th pick and before the 126th (David Montgomery.)

That meant that the run actually started when I took Singletary at #126. In the 20 picks from 126 to 145, no less than 7 were RB's--35% of the picks in that range.

#126: Devin Singletary
#127: Damien Harris
#133: Rodney Anderson
Round 5:
#140: Darrell Henderson
#142: Miles Sanders
#144: Justice Hill
#145: Mike Weber

The remainder of the top RB prospects went in Round 5 as well....

#157: Trayveon Williams
162: BEARS 5th ROUND PICK
#164: Ryquell Armstead
#165: Dexter Williams
#169: Benny Snell
#173: Bryce Love
#178: Devine Ozigbo
#196: Elijah Holyfield


I chose Singletary but I could have just as easily taken Sanders or Henderson or Trayveon Williams. I'll leave that to Pace and Nagy. My key point is: Taking a RB in the 3rd is clearly too early and waiting to the 5th may be a bit too risk. The 4th round feels like the place to take our back.

The 5th Round- Pick 162:

If there is one thing we learned through the dark days of the 2000's as a Bears fan it's that you ALWAYS need to be investing in developing your OL. I have no idea if Dru Samia the tough as nails OK interior O Lineman will make it this far but this feels like a BPA kind of selection. It would be a dream if Samia were to fall to us here.
Note: I looked for a quality TE prospect with this pick as well but they were all gone- taking the ones on the board would have felt very forced. In fact, that's another trend: very few quality TE's make it to the 5th; the likes of Jace Sternberger and Dawson Knox were long gone but so too were Josh Oliver, and Kahale Warring even Alize Mack and Foster Moreau went earlier than our 5th round pick. So, when it comes to the TE position, unless this team has really given up on Shaheen (and decide to take a TE in the 3rd) then I don't see us taking a TE in the 4th (where we likely go RB) and I think it unlikely that there will be any talent worth us taking in the 5th.

This is a problem though as we need more depth an bodies going into OTAs and camp. Behind Burton and Shaheen we only have Braunaker-- no more Simms, no more Brown. The Bears clearly need to add at least other player at the TE position. Look for either another TE FA signing (Jermaine Gresham anyone?) or we make that pick in the 7th as I have done below.

7th Round: Pick 222: West Virgina TE Trevon Wesco. He's considered to be a blocking TE at 6'4" 275 lbs. This Waldman breakdown shows him blocking in pass protection, run blocking, lead blocking as a FB. But, he actually shows up pretty darn well as a pass catcher too.


Final Pick, #238:
Ok. This one feels a little too good to be true. In Chad Reuters recent NFL.com 7 round draft, he actually had Hollins mocked to the Bears in the 3rd. For the Oregon Edge rushers to slip all the way to the 7th seems far fetched. But then again, this is the composite board so I don't totally dismiss it. Things like this do happen. I couldn't pass it up. There were other Edge options on the board and I would have definitely taken Max Crosby who was there if Hollins wasn't. Carl Granderson is another high ceiling Edge player with character red flags that was also still on the board.

Frankly, other than the TE position (which is a must) I don't care who the Bears take in the 7th. Another big WR prospect like Baylor's Jalen Heardor even a developmental QB like Washington State's Gardner Minshew would be fine by me.

Just one demand: Don't waste a freaking draft pick on a kicker. The Bears will be the best possible option to any aspiring UDFA kicker-- a storied franchise, a super bowl contender and a wide open competition. Don't go and use a draft pick on a guy who would likely come to us after the draft anyway.
User avatar
thunderspirit
Head Coach
Posts: 3829
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 12:51 pm
Location: Greater Chicagoland, IL
Has thanked: 605 times
Been thanked: 603 times

Good to.see ya, Kaiser.

I can't argue with the logic behind any of your picks. The only question still in my mind is how highly the Bears value DBs, as they've yet to take one before Day 3 under Pace. I tend to think CB should come before S myself, but I love Hooker as a prospect and would have no issue with him being the selection at #87.
KFFL refugee.

dplank wrote:I agree with Rich here
RichH55 wrote: Dplank is correct
:shocked:
The Kaiser
Pro Bowler
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2016 2:49 pm
Has thanked: 62 times
Been thanked: 128 times

thunderspirit wrote:Good to.see ya, Kaiser.

I can't argue with the logic behind any of your picks. The only question still in my mind is how highly the Bears value DBs, as they've yet to take one before Day 3 under Pace. I tend to think CB should come before S myself, but I love Hooker as a prospect and would have no issue with him being the selection at #87.
Yo Thunder. Good to see you too.

Yeah, I'm with you on CB over DB from a pure value perspective. The problem is that this mock had 11 CB's go off the board before pick 87. The only CB on the board even worthy of a second thought was David Long but Hooker just feels like much better value. The guy I like for the Bears that could fall to 87 is the other Amani, Penn State's CB, Amani Oruwariye. Reminds me a lot of Tillman, he's a long corner who grew up as an Army brat. He's good fighting for the ball and willing in run support. Amost identical size and measurables to Peanut as well.
User avatar
Umbali
MVP
Posts: 1042
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:32 pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 83 times

I like it and your thought process. I wouldnt have an issue with this. Do kinda wonder how the TE situation is going to end up
Fantasy Team: Peanut Punchers
Post Reply