Chicago Bears 7-Round Mock Draft: Let’s get wild with trades

With pick number 204, the Bears finally go defense. They won’t find a Day 1 starter in these later rounds, by any means, but getting some depth is the goal here.

Missouri’s Derrick Barnes could be one of this year’s sleeper picks, and the Bears would be fortunate to find a future replacement for Danny Trevathan.

As a three-year starter, Barnes has evolved into someone who should end up making a name for himself early on special teams. He’s a high effort player with excellent play strength. The 6-foot Barnes is a big, broad linebacker who loves contact. He’s played both on the line and also inside linebacker, and is best suited as the latter.

In his three years as a starter, Barnes accumulated 209 total tackles, including 24.5 for a loss and 10.5 sacks. In 2020, he was solely a middle linebacker and ended up with zero sacks on the year. However, Barnes did come up with his first career interception last season. He is best suited as a guy who can plug holes in the run game and occasionally blitz on the inside.

Not in a rush to develop and start, Barnes would find a home as a special teamer and also someone who could spell Trevathan at times. Trevathan is falling off in recent years, and Chicago would be well-served to start finding a guy to take his place.