Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Marcus Mariota in, Allen Robinson out

With the first of their two conditional picks, the Bears go running back with Elijah Mitchell out of Louisiana.

Last season, the lack of depth behind David Montgomery really showed its head. In fact, when it looked like Montgomery might miss Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, fans were panicking as it appeared they’d have to run with Cordarrelle Patterson as the number one back.

Getting Tarik Cohen back will help in 2021, but the Bears still don’t have a prototypical running back behind Montgomery. This is where taking a player like Mitchell, even though later in the draft, will pan out.

In his four years at Louisiana, Mitchell racked up nearly 4,000 yards and 46 total touchdowns. He possesses a 5-foot-10 frame that packs a lot of muscle. Mitchell runs patiently and easily bounces off tacklers, a lot like Montgomery. He doesn’t have breakaway speed, but that’s not what the Bears are going with here.

Mitchell can catch the football and also run between tackles if he’s asked to, so he’s the perfect later round back to take when looking at adding a depth piece.