With the draft approaching fast, I feel like it's time I gave my initial list of what I feel should be the top 64 guys the Bears should go for in the draft. I feel like positional rankings are important in a draft, but the ultimate goal should be a list of guys that you want your team (or just your favorite team, in the case of fans like us) to draft. Of course this is going to be far off, because Emery seems to be a guy who likes to surprise fans with his picks, but these are the guys, in order, that I feel like the Bears should have on their list. I took both position and the quality of the player into account while making this list.
1. Khalil Mack - OLB
2. Jadaveon Clowney - DE
3. Sammy Watkins - WR
4. Greg Robinson - OT
5. Teddy Bridgewater - QB
6. Blake Bortles - QB
7. Jake Matthews - OT
8. Justin Gilbert - CB
9. Eric Ebron - TE
10. Aaron Donald - DT
11. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S
12. Calvin Pryor - S
13. Darqueze Dennard - CB
14. CJ Mosley - MLB
15. Anthony Barr - OLB
16. Taylor Lewan - OT
17. Mike Evans - WR
18. Dee Ford - DE
19. Louis Nix - DT
20. Timmy Jernigan - DT
21. Odell Beckham - WR
22. Ryan Shazier - OLB
23. Jimmie Ward - S
24. Kyle Fuller - CB
25. Jason Verrett - CB
26. Jimmy Garoppolo - QB
27. Johnny Manziel - QB
28. Bradley Roby - CB
29. Zack Martin - OG
30. Brandin Cooks - WR
31. Derek Carr - QB
32. Marqise Lee - WR
33. Allen Robinson - WR
34. Kony Ealy - DE
35. Stephon Tuitt - DT
36. RaShede Hageman - DT
37. Jace Amaro - TE
38. Cyrus Kouandijo - OT
39. Xavier Su'a-Filo - OG
40. Scott Crichton - DE
41. Lemarcus Joyner - CB
42. Donte Moncrief - WR
43. Kyle Van Noy - OLB
44. Aurtin Seferian-Jenkins TE
45. Phillip Gaines - CB
46. Dominique Easley - DT
47. Will Sutton - DT
48. Marcus Roberson - CB
49. Terrence Brooks - S
50. DaQuan Jones - DT
51. Keith McGill - CB
52. Chris Borland - MLB
53. Ego Ferguson - DT
54. Deone Bucannon - SS
55. Demarcus Lawrence - DE
56. Marcus Smith - DE
57. Troy Niklas - TE
58. Morgan Moses - OT
59. Joel Bitonio - OG
60. Tre Mason - RB
61. JaWuan James - OT
62. Scott Crichton - DE
63. Kareem Martin - DE
64. Davante Adams - WR
Okay, I realize I probably have some explaining to do. First off, this list includes everyone involved. I know that guys like Mack, Bortles, and Clowney are not falling to the Bears, but I put them on there anyway because they're still in the draft. There are a lot of guys from the 15-51 range that won't be there by the time #51 comes around as well. The bottom line is that this is a list of where the guys should fall in order of importance for the Bears in the draft. Anyway, I'll break it down by sections.
1. Khalil Mack - OLB
2. Jadaveon Clowney - DE
3. Sammy Watkins - WR
4. Greg Robinson - OT
5. Teddy Bridgewater - QB
6. Blake Bortles - QB
7. Jake Matthews - OT
8. Justin Gilbert - CB
9. Eric Ebron - TE
I don't expect to see these guys fall to the Bears, but they are players that are good enough that, regardless of position, the Bears should scoop up if they do. Gilbert is the only one there at a position of real need for the Bears, although it wouldn't hurt for them to get a linebacker, defensive end, backup tight end, or backup QB. However, these are not guys you draft to be backups. Mack is one of those guys who you almost channel what Bob Knight said about Michael Jordan when talking about him. Bob Knight said to a team drafting early in 1984 that they should draft Jordan. When the team told him that they needed a center, Knight told them to draft Jordan and play him at center. With Mack it's similar, in my mind he's good enough that he can be anywhere from a 3-4 OLB, 4-3 OLB, or even an inside/middle linebacker in either defensive formation and still be among the best defensive players in the league. I think he's that good. I see Clowney as the Hakeem Olajuwon (or Akeem if going back to 1984). I don't think he'll be as good as Mack, but I don't think people will question the Texans for taking him either, much like that other Houston team in that other league who took Olajuwon over Jordan. I need to say that this is all relative too. I don't think that Mack will be the best player of all time. I do think he'll be a regular in the Pro Bowl, and I think Clowney will be too, but I don't think that either will wind up even in the top 5 at their position all time. Again, I do think that both are going to be worthy of their draft positions still, just not among the very very best ever (unless they fall to the Bears, then they're already among the very very best ever).
10. Aaron Donald - DT
11. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S
12. Calvin Pryor - S
13. Darqueze Dennard - CB
14. CJ Mosley - MLB
15. Anthony Barr - OLB
At least a few (no way there's fewer than 2, since the Bears pick at 14), if not all of these guys should fall to the Bears. While it's unlikely that all do, I just don't say never too often with the NFL draft, as there are a lot of NFL GMs that like to surprise people, including Phil Emery. The biggest surprise for anyone who has read anything else from me is that Aaron Donald is my #1 guy as far as guys who might fall to the Bears. I've been pretty clear that I feel like safety is the #1 need for the Bears, but I just feel like Aaron Donald is one of those guys like Drew Brees where you hear about teams passing up on him because of his size, but then he comes out and is an absolute beast anyway. Donald is on the small size, but he has incredible strength, and could get into the backfield at will. Sure, it won't be that easy in the NFL, but I still see him as someone who is regularly disrupting quarterbacks and getting early hits on running backs, in other words, being a great defensive player. He's just too good, and DT is a position of some need for the Bears, because Ratliff is getting older. Anyway, at safety I'm still for Ha Ha, as I think he is more ready to play right now and better all around, but I also think that Pryor may have a higher ceiling than Ha Ha has. I would be very happy with either one of them being drafted by the Bears. It's very likely that the Bears have a shot at one of those three, but if not, Darqueze Dennard (who has less of a chance to fall to the Bears than any of those three guys) and CJ Mosely both fill positions of need for the Bears, as Tillman is getting old and likely won't be around much longer (Jennings probably only has a couple of years left as well), and with Williams being on a one year deal, the Bears will need someone to play middle linebacker in the future as well, I can see Mosley not just filling in, but being that next great middle linebacker for the Bears if he's drafted there. Anthony Barr is another linebacker who is just an absolute stud at the position. If he's there the Bears can move guys around to make sure that everything fits, but he's too good to pass up on at this point in the draft.
16. Taylor Lewan - OT
17. Mike Evans - WR
18. Dee Ford - DE
19. Louis Nix - DT
20. Timmy Jernigan - DT
21. Odell Beckham - WR
22. Ryan Shazier - OLB
23. Jimmie Ward - S
24. Kyle Fuller - CB
25. Jason Verrett - CB
26. Jimmy Garoppolo - QB
27. Johnny Manziel - QB
28. Bradley Roby - CB
29. Zack Martin - OG
30. Brandin Cooks - WR
31. Derek Carr - QB
32. Marqise Lee - WR
33. Allen Robinson - WR
34. Kony Ealy - DE
35. Stephon Tuitt - DT
36. RaShede Hageman - DT
37. Jace Amaro - TE
These are the guys that the Bears look at for the second round. Chances are most of these guys are gone when the Bears get to pick at 51. However, there's a solid chance that several will still be on the board, as different teams have different needs, and the second round is really where teams start to get more creative and make reaches as far as a whole round for guys. In other words, even though this list ends 14 spots before the Bears draft in the second round, there's a great chance that more than one of these guys falls to them. A lot of these guys are guys who are not at a position of need for the Bears, but are too good to pass on if they do fall to the Bears. For instance, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, and all of the other wide receivers in there would give the Bears easily the best receiving core in the league. It wouldn't matter who you put in the slot if you match any of those guys up with Marshall and Jeffery. Louis Nix would pretty much be a perfect replacement for Ratliff, being a similar type of DT, as really both are more Nose Tackles. If the Bears were able to get Clinton-Dix or Pryor as well as Jimmie Ward, how awesome would that be? Going from Conte and Mundy as the safeties to C-D/Pryor and Ward. Seeing that position going from possibly the worst to one of the best for the Bears would pretty much complete the rebuild of the defense for the 2014 season. Either way, any one of these guys could really give the Bears a boost in 2014, and several will likely fall to them.
One thing I should address is that I have Manziel pretty low. I even have him below Garoppolo, who I think could wind up as the best QB in this class (although I am admittedly biased). I just don't think that Manziel will be a great pro quarterback. Adequate? Yes, but I just don't think that a lot of the things he was able to get away with in college will work in the pros (on the field, I could not care less about off the field as long as they're able to play). A lot of his daring throws are sure interceptions in the NFL, and early in his career I actually see him as a headache for teams if he's starting off the bat. If he's able to sit for a few years I do see him as a solid, but not spectacular pro. Also, I should mention that I think Pro Days and the Combine are terrible ways to judge players. What should be looked at is what is done on the field. Not just their success, but how they had that success, and if they came up short in areas, why they came up short in those areas. Players rarely run in a straight line for 40 yards in the NFL, for a defensive player, having good instincts gets you to the ball much quicker than being able to run a good 40.
38. Cyrus Kouandijo - OT
39. Xavier Su'a-Filo - OG
40. Scott Crichton - DE
41. Lemarcus Joyner - CB
42. Donte Moncrief - WR
43. Kyle Van Noy - OLB
44. Aurtin Seferian-Jenkins TE
45. Phillip Gaines - CB
46. Dominique Easley - DT
47. Will Sutton - DT
48. Marcus Roberson - CB
49. Terrence Brooks - S
50. DaQuan Jones - DT
51. Keith McGill - CB
52. Chris Borland - MLB
53. Ego Ferguson - DT
54. Deone Bucannon - SS
55. Demarcus Lawrence - DE
56. Marcus Smith - DE
57. Troy Niklas - TE
58. Morgan Moses - OT
59. Joel Bitonio - OG
60. Tre Mason - RB
61. JaWuan James - OT
62. Scott Crichton - DE
63. Kareem Martin - DE
64. Davante Adams - WR
These are other guys that look like they can be quality NFL players. While there probably will be a star or two in that group, it will be by surprise (although simple history shows that there are Pro Bowlers who are picked in the late 2nd round and 3rd). Anyway, these are mostly guys at positions of need for the Bears, depending on who is drafted ahead of them (for instance, if the Bears get 2 safeties in the first 2 rounds, it would be silly for them to draft one in the 3rd as well). Ego Ferguson is one of the guys I see in this group who has a chance to really surprise some people. Also, at 60 is the first running back I have on the list. The Bears really should get someone other than Draughn and Ford behind Forte, and Mason wouldn't be a bad choice. There is little doubt that 5-10 of these guys will make it to the third round for the Bears to pick from, and even a chance that 1 or 2 make it to the 4th round. There's still plenty to choose from for the Bears at that point.
This is a list that is very likely to change with time. We're still just under 2 weeks away from the draft, and a lot can happen in that time. The Bears are in a great spot to heavily improve their team with the first three rounds of this draft.
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