Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Combine Week edition

Without diving super deep into the rest of the class, I’ll give the basics with the last four picks.

These players are all about adding depth and potential diamonds in the rough. Trying to balance the need and best player on the board. In a perfect world, the team can draft an edge early to possibly replace Leonard Floyd or maybe a safety or corner to take over after Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Prince Amukamara, respectively. But finding guys this late in the draft to plug-and-play and contribute now is difficult, and some are just blatant throwaways. However, Pace has had his share of late-round finds. Arguably better than his early-round picks!

166: Kendall Coleman, EDGE, Syracuse: Coleman does not possess nearly the crazy physical talents that Floyd has, but where has that gotten Floyd? The ‘Cuse product does have some nice explosion in his first steps but doesn’t really have a “+” pass rush trait. He isn’t super strong or bendy like most of the guys ahead of him in this class. He will need to add pass-rushing moves, but doing some work with Ted Monachino could do him wonders.

196: J.R. Reed, Safety, Georgia: Reed would actually complement Eddie Jackson well here. A quality box safety who has no fear of tackling whatsoever. I can’t imagine he would ever be asked to play as a single-high or even deep quarters defender in the NFL, but crazier things have happened. He doesn’t exactly exuberate ball skills (over 52 appearances over three years), which probably plays into him being a Day 3 target.

266: J.J. Taylor, Running Back, Arizona: You may recall the Bears using a late pick on a Kerrith Whyte, a quick little scatback out of Florida Atlantic. Whyte was plucked off the practice squad by the Steelers, which was a shame because he definitely had some Tarik Cohen in him. Taylor a tiny man at five and a half feet tall and 185 lbs. But make no mistake: the former Wildcat is a slippery dual-threat back (3,750 combined rushing and receiving yards). He can also fill in as a returner in a pinch. Maybe he sticks around longer than Whyte.

233: Lavert Hill, Cornerback, Michigan: There was a time long, long ago, where I thought Hill was going to be a Day 2 pick in the draft. Times have changed. He won’t be asked to take over the opposite side of Kyle Fuller, but Hill could be seen as a future nickel defender. I think he has a nice set of man coverage techniques and isn’t overly aggressive in hand fighting. He will need to add some weight and explain why his 2019 was such a down year after 2018.