Chicago Bears: Mocking picks 1-8 of 2018 NFL Draft

With the fifth overall selection, the Denver Broncos begin to add to the gaps left in their once-fearsome secondary.

The Denver Broncos traded away stud cornerback Aqib Talib for whatever reasons they had earlier in the month. One thing is for sure: They helped the Los Angeles Rams defense get even scarier overall.

Without Talib, and with pieces leaving that once-vaunted defense little by little, Denver is going to need to begin filling in the holes left behind. This would be a great place to start. In this scenario, I have the Broncos selecting defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick out of Alabama.

Fitzpatrick is versatile and can play either safety or corner, depending on the scheme. In this case, that’s a huge bonus for the Broncos who don’t necessarily have an elite pairing at safety right now. They still have Chris Harris at corner, but Talib will leave a gigantic void at the other spot.

Some fans have liked the idea of Fitzpatrick falling to the Bears, but I don’t know if that has a strong likelihood of happening with the voids in Denver’s defense. Sure, another candidate for them may be Denzel Ward out of Ohio State, but Fitzpatrick is generally ranked higher in most eyes.

Since Denver brought in Case Keenum, and he seems to be “the guy” John Elway had wanted from the beginning — or so he says — there may not be as pressing of a need to take a quarterback here. For this reason, I have them selecting Fitzpatrick.