Chicago Bears: Final 7-Round 2019 NFL Mock Draft
The Bears don’t need to take a running back in the third round.
But you can bank on them taking one on day three of the draft. The number of pre-visits they’ve had with running backs is all you need to know.
In 2016, they scooped up Howard in the fifth round and they got two great seasons and one… ”meh” year out of him before shipping him away to Philly. In 2019, they’ll take a swing on a talented runner with incredibly scary baggage.
Bryce Love *should* have declared after his Heisman finalist season. But he wanted more, and who are we to question why someone returns to school? The only caveat is if you don’t outperform yourself from the year before, eyebrows are raised.
And not in a good way.
The drop in production from his Junior to Senior year is alarming, and some of it can probably be pointed towards defenses knowing how destructive he was in 2017. But only gets scarier when you see that he tore his ACL at the end of the season. The potential of what he could be at the next level is tantalizing if he can rediscover that Heisman-caliber magic.
From a fit standpoint, Stanford was a big inside zone team and also did a bit of power running as well. There were times where David Shaw tried to get him involved in the passing game (six catches in 2017; 20 in 2018), so there is a possibility that Nagy wants to get him rolling in that capacity. I do have some reservations with his abilities in pass protection in the sense that he is inconsistent at times with finding a pass rusher to help chip or block.
Also. Bears: Bold predictions for 2019 NFL Draft. light
But the primary concern is his health.
I get the feeling that the Bears really like Mike Davis. Enough where if they don’t find the running back of the future in this draft, they can probably get away with finding their guy next year. I agree there is a bit of risk by waiting so long to target the position so late in the draft. But value at this position can be found in any round and even after the draft. Just ask Phillip Lindsay.
To summarize, this is a risky play for the Bears to make, but given that this is their second to last selection in the draft, these kinds of swings can be made with little hesitation.