Bears 7-Round Mock Draft Including Major First-Round Trade

3. No. 75 overall: Michael Hall Jr., DT, Ohio St.

We’ve reached the crapshoot. Before we discuss Michael Hall Jr.’s potential impact, I feel obligated to wax poetic about some recent Day Two and Three picks the Bears have nailed that might reflect his impact.

As aforementioned, Johnson in ’23 and Jones in '22 might very well be Chicago’s third-down running back and starting left tackle next year. Kyler Gordon is a starter-caliber corner and Jaquan Brisker is a rising star at safety – both were ’22 second rounders. It was under the Ryan Pace regime, but Teven Jenkins (21’ second round) is a good guard when healthy and Jalen Johnson (’20 second round) is All-Pro. These picks matter!

Obviously, not listed are the dozen more players that did little to nothing as a Bear. Which will Hall be? A smooth athlete with strong pass rushing chops, he’s too short to kick outside to edge (6’ 2”) but too light to operate as an every down defensive tackle in the Bears 4-3 scheme without adding mass (280 lbs).

Hall is also coming off of a roaring pro day that clocked him with a 4.78-second 40 (98th percentile amongst defensive tackles) and a 33-inch vertical (93rd percentile). Poles has a history of overdrafting talent in a position of need (see: Zacch Pickens last year). Given the lack of pass-rushing punch besides Sweat, he fills a role.

Ultimately, he could come in and make an immediate impact as a rotational pass-rusher; think a more finesse-oriented version of Tampa Bay’s first rounder last year, Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey. If used properly, he could add a fascinating pass rush twist rotating with run-stoppers like Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter Sr (2.5 sacks between them last season).