Chicago Bears mock draft 5.0: Trade opens things up

Artie Burns (6-foot-0, 195 pounds), CB, Miami

I keep going back and forth on Artie Burns. I really love his play. He has everything you want in a cornerback — height, speed, aggressiveness, a ball hawk — but he is leaving school earlier than he should.

Of course, we may be surprised and find out he is ready now. The Hurricane players under former head coach Al Golden have tended to underwhelm a little in college, but turn out to be very good professionals.

In Miami, Burns played in a rotation of cornerbacks. Even with that, he led the ACC in interceptions with six. The Bears defense had trouble forcing turnovers in 2015, so his ball skills would come in handy. He also played inside at safety, so he can add to the versatility Fangio covets.

With his speed, Burns could even help out on special teams. He could blow past a lot of would-be tacklers, and could give the Bears another special returner after Devin Hester.

The Chicago Bears are pretty thin at corner, and Tracy Porter, one of the starters, is on the tail end of his career. Porter did wonders helping Kyle Fuller, so it would be a great thing for Porter to take Burns under his wing.

Pace has talked about wanting more speed on the defense. Well, Burns is a bona fide track athlete. He was on the track team (which some say hurt his football development), and broke an American record among athletes under the age of 21 in the 60-meter hurdles in 2014.

As I mentioned, Burns may have left school a year early, but he needed to leave, as his mother passed away during the 2015 season. With his father incarcerated, Burns had to take care of his brothers.

Because of that, Burns is still raw. He gets too handsy at times (he was called for four pass interference penalties). Part of the reason was because of his track schedule.

Now Burns is training for football full-time. He will be an impact player for years in the NFL. He should fit in with the Chicago Bears well.

Next: Round 3: Get a quarterback for the future