Thursday marked the opening round of the 2020 NFL Draft and it couldn’t have fallen any more in the Chicago Bears favor. They didn’t make any moves up, as had been speculated in the leadup to the event. Chicago might also have enjoyed some of what they saw from the other teams in the division. And they have to like the options that should still be available to them.
First Round of NFL Draft in Bears Favor
It’ll Come To You
One of the biggest fears of Bears fans had to be that general manager Ryan Pace would get antsy and make a trade for a player he coveted. No one could be sure who that would be, but Pace has proven time and again to be less than wary of pulling the trigger on a deal. The most well-documented example is the trade up to take Mitchell Trubisky.
With that as the prominent example of what can go wrong when trading up, not seeing the Bears on the clock was a minor relief. None of the top quarterbacks slid enough to make it worth jumping (yes, Pace would have made the move if they did) and the skill positions are still full of immediate impact players.
Pace’s seat is viewed as, at least, warm and many wondered how much freedom he would have to maneuver if ownership thought a change might be made after 2020. But the way the draft fell, we still don’t know. That is good news for Pace as he has plenty of options and, in theory, few ways to mess this up.
Options Everywhere
We’ve talked before about who the Bears should target. After the free agency period they had, it was fairly easy to peg them for a defensive back, offensive lineman, or tight end. Wide receiver and running back were tossed around, but those would almost be luxury picks. The wild card was always the quarterback position.
Joe Burrow was as close to a lock as we had in this draft. After him, in this unique climate, everything was up for grabs. Things ended up going about as expected and Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert both went early. The surprise was Jordan Love to Green Bay, though it follows their history. With those four gone, the Bears decision was made for them.
A run on wide receivers (including to a rival) still didn’t diminish their viable options either, but they have to be ecstatic at how the tight end class all slid into the second round. At the top should be Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet, a more complete weapon than Hunter Bryant or Brycen Hopkins. At safety, their biggest need outside of the offensive line, Grant Delpit and Antoine Winfield are both still on the board.
Like What You See
It wasn’t just a banner day for Bears inactivity that had Bears fans talking. The Lions selection of Jeffrey Okudah and Packers taking Love are interesting for different reasons. Okudah, for all his talent, was largely viewed as too slow to be the top corner let alone the third-overall pick. Love is a project that does nothing for a win-now roster.
The one rival that did well was the Vikings. They used their two first-rounders to take wide receiver Justin Jefferson of LSU and cornerback Jeff Gladney of TCU. Both fill needs as well as being near the top of their position groups. Minnesota by default gets the best rapid reaction grades among the NFC North participants from Thursday.
2018 seems so long ago that fans need to remember this team won 12 games just two years ago. It’s difficult to say they’re definitively worse off now, but that’s because they still have a great chance to get some difference-makers. With how the rest of the division draft, at least in the immediate term, the Bears could be right back in the thick of the division race this season.
Draft Breaks in Bears Favor
It can still go any which way, but the scene looks pretty good when viewing through burnt orange lenses. If it goes a certain writer’s way, the Beloved will get their paws on Kmet and Delpit or Winfield Jr. Of course, with the Bears picking 43 and 50 right now, there’s always the chance the old (trade happy) Ryan Pace resurfaces too.
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