Chicago Bears wheel and deal, add 12 players in this 2022 mock draft

Using the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator and their big board—since the Chicago Bears draft board is only known to a select few—this is one way the draft could shake out for the Bears.

Player selections came down to…

1. Best player available or
2. If the Bears had multiple picks in a round, positional need was taken into account over the best player available if that player at a need position was within five spots of the best player available.
3. This approach allows to have a group of players the Bears might want when it comes time to picking a player and avoids “reaching” for a player. Also it helps avoid the Bears’ previous management’s mistake of targeting just one player and sacrificing draft capital to move up to get that player.

The Chicago Bears own pick 39 in the second round. That is a prime pick to have if at team is hoping to trade down and gather more picks. It is in the second-round sweet spot where players with first-round grades are still available due to following out of the draft’s opening round for whatever reason.

For example, the Bears traded up to pick 39 in last year’s draft to select offensive tackle Teven Jenkins. He had a first-round grade but fell out of the first due to some injury concerns.

Sure enough, in the mock draft simulation, once the Chicago Bears were on the clock at pick 39 in the second round, the San Francisco 49ers wanted to move up from pick 61. This trade allowed the Bears to pick up five draft picks.

While there were some good players available at pick 39, the Chicago Bears need more draft capital. This is a deep draft at the Bears’ three major need areas: wide receiver, cornerback, and offensive line.

This trade allowed the Bears to pick up another top-100 draft pick and two more picks in the third round. The Bears still get a chance to draft some impact players later in the second round.