Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Carson Wentz trade changes things

After trading their seventh rounder to New England, this would be the Bears’ last pick of the draft. With the 180th overall pick, they go defense here with safety Reed Blankenship out of Middle Tennessee.

Eventually, it would be nice to see some cohesion at the safety position. Finding a long-term starter next to Eddie Jackson would give the secondary long-lasting continuity. Blankenship may end up developing into that guy, and finding him in the sixth round makes this incredible value.

Small school prospects are sometimes difficult to evaluate, because they play against a much lesser level of competition. Blankenship has also played all over for Middle Tennessee, but he’s done his best work when he’s been able to play closer to the box — and that’s the type of safety the Bears need. He’s a physical kid who is always near the pile. He’s out to make the tackle on every single play.

If this unit is going to get back to taking the football away, Jackson is going to need to be allowed to roam free and use his instincts to go get the football. Blankenship would fill the strong safety role and be the one to come up and help out in run support while even having some experience defending the slot.

This past season, Blankenship came up with 76 tackles in nine games. His best season came in 2018 when he played in 12 games, totaling 107 combined tackles, including 8.0 for a loss and four picks. If Blankenship gets to gel with this unit, he very well could become one of the steals of this draft.