Chicago Bears: Grading 2018 rookie class after Year 1
By Usayd Koshul
With the Chicago Bears season having come to an end, it’s time to look at how the Bears rookies performed during the 2018 NFL Regular Season.
The 2018 NFL Draft was an eventful one for the Chicago Bears. For the second consecutive season, Ryan Pace was able to find multiple day-one starters that would go on to form the core of the Chicago Bears.
In 2017, the Bears were able to find Mitchell Trubisky, Tarik Cohen, and Eddie Jackson. All three would go onto to play major roles for the Bears that same season. Jackson, Cohen, and Trubisky have all have become major cornerstones for the Bears.
In 2018, the Bears would draft Roquan Smith, Anthony Miller, and James Daniels. All three would become regular starters for the Bears. Despite not having a third-round pick, Ryan Pace and co. still managed to find hidden gems on day three too.
After a solid first two rounds, the Bears would find quality depth pieces in rounds four through seven in Bilal Nichols, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Kylie Fitts, and Javon Wims.
As soon as the 2018 NFL Draft ended, on paper, the Bears seemed to have had the most successful NFL Draft of any team. Not only did Ryan Pace fill in major roster needs, but he also managed to shore up the Bears depth for the next three seasons.
All throughout the NFL Draft, Ryan Pace stayed aggressive, moving all over the draft board in order to ensure that the Bears would be able to get the players that the needed to ensure that they could complete their core for the future.
As the Bears head into the offseason, it’s time to evaluate each players season. We’ll be grading how each player performed during his rookie season while predicting what they did in 2018 that could lead to them having a bigger role in 2019.