Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Great value found with players who opted out

Many recent mock drafts have the Chicago Bears making a trade up, but in this scenario, they find exactly what they need and more by staying put.

Like it or not, the Bears are locked in at the no. 20 pick overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Beating three of four remaining opponents was enough to land them in the final NFC playoff spot, but the Bears fell flat on their face in the Wildcard game against the Saints.

Was a playoff berth alone worth it all? That’s debatable. But, the reality is, Chicago worked their way several spots back in the draft by getting to the postseason. Now, they may have to pray one of their top prospects falls to them at no. 20.

The first round will likely see the Bears focus on a quarterback, and that’s exactly why so many mocks have them trading up for a guy like Trey Lance, Zach Wilson or Justin Fields. But, to do so, they would have to sacrifice a haul of picks.

Is it worth losing so much future draft capital in order to move up and select a quarterback not named Trevor Lawrence? That’s the million dollar question.

The other option, of course, is staying put and drafting the best available player. If that’s a quarterback, then the Bears get lucky. If not, then hopefully Chicago has already solidified that position with a veteran via trade or free agency.

In this instance, the Bears stay where they’re at with the 20th pick in the first round and wind up with a strong value. Not only that, but in later rounds they find some excellent talent that fell due to players opting out of the 2020 season. This draft haul just may put the Bears back where they belong.