Okay, the draft starts in 20 minutes from when I am typing this very sentence. With that being said, I'm not going to go into a lot of detail over what this is or type some exciting opening paragraph (sorry, no firsts tonight). I'm saying who I think the Bears wind up with, not trying to do any sort of novelty, but who I think they really do wind up with.
First Round
The people who I'm looking at are Aaron Donald, Calvin Pryor, CJ Mosely, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Ryan Shazier, Darqueze Dennard, Kyle Fuller, and Anthony Barr. Guys like Ra'Shede Hageman, Timmy Jernigan, Jimmie Ward, Louis Nix, and Deone Bucannon are all guys that don't fall too far outside, but I consider them to be guys who they grab if they somehow fall to the second round and not first round options, but it wouldn't be a total shock if the Bears grabbed them in the first, just a big reach.
Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm just feeling like this comes down to a few of the picks before them. I think that Donald, Clinton-Dix, and Pryor are the top three guys. If all three are there, I think it's Donald. If Donald is gone, I think it's Clinton-Dix, and if both of those guys are gone, then it's Pryor. Clinton-Dix makes the most sense as far as need goes, as he's probably the best cover safety in the draft, but a player like Donald falling to 14 (which is a small possibility) doesn't happen every day, especially since the Bears could use a bit more at DT. With Pryor the Bears would have a very hard hitting safety who is great against the run, although his pass coverage ability isn't the greatest, it still projects to be decent. My biggest worry with him is that he racks up the personal foul penalties.
In the end, I'm going to say that Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is there for the taking, and the Bears snatch him up.
Second Round
Okay, we're about 24 hours from here, and tomorrow I may very well have a post on a new set of guys the Bears should go after in the second round. As for the time being, I'm going to assume that Clinton-Dix was the pick. So, at this point you want to go after DT, S (still one open spot), CB, or LB. Looking at who may still be on the board, Timmy Jernigan is the guy who I see being a surprise player who may fall to the Bears. If he's there, then the Bears need to go after him. If Jimmie Ward is there, the Bears should go after him as well (Jernigan over Ward). Jernigan has some worries, but he also has shown the ability to be a playmaker from the inside. Ward lacks size, but he has a high motor, very good athleticism, and would surely be an upgrade over who the Bears have right now at safety (outside of Clinton-Dix). Other guys who might be there that are a possibility are Marcus Roberson, Dominique Easley, Ego Ferguson, Deone Bucannon, Chris Borland, Pierre Desir, and Keith McGill.
I'm not counting on Jernigan falling all the way to the Bears in the second round, and the chances of Ward falling to them, while not miniscule, are not great either. I'm going to go with Deone Bucannon here. The Bears front office seems to like him, he's a high character guy and has a very nice upside. I know it's another safety, but remember they went with linebackers with consecutive picks last year with Bostic and Greene.
Third Round
The draft is just starting as I type this sentence. Goodell is feeling the love in New York. The Bears are now looking at DT, CB, and LB. Not too far off are backups at RB, QB, and TE. If Jimmy Garoppolo falls to this point in the draft, the Bears need to take him. While he would learn under Cutler for a few years, at the same time I wouldn't consider him to be a developmental quarterback. Anyway, some guys I'm looking at with this pick are Ego Ferguson, Pierre Desir, Marcus Roberson, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Jaylen Watkins, Christian Kirksey, DaQuan Jones, and Christian Jones. Of those guys, I'm thinking that if Ego Ferguson is on the board they take him after drafting two defensive backs in the first two rounds, I think they'll want to move more inside. Christian Jones is an intriguing prospect who could wind up as a middle or outside linebacker, so he'll be strongly considered. DaQuan Jones would be a great run plugging type of DT as well. I still don't think they'll shy away from Desir or Roberson if they're still around, but in the end I think they'll wind up with Ego Ferguson.
Fourth Round
I think this is where the Bears build up their linebacking core with Yawin Smallwood. I feel like Smallwood is a very interesting linebacker prospect who will win over Emery due to his athleticism. He's a touch small, but he can still get bigger and stronger.
Fifth Round
I've been saying this name for a while now. I'm going with Larry Webster here. He's the quintessential Emery type of pick, judging by Emery's first two drafts. He's a super athletic DE or TE, most likely DE, and he was very good in his lone season as a DE. He has explosive speed, and he's got great athleticism to help bat down passes. He has a chance to be an absolute steal here.
Sixth Round
With the first pick the Bears have, I have them grabbing De'Anthony Thomas, filling their need for a backup running back, and one that can be just a general offensive weapon at the same time. With the second pick I'm going with Marcel Jensen. I don't know why, but I see him falling, and I expect the Bears to scoop him up to be the backup for Martellus Bennett.
There they are, and I got it all in before the second pick was announced!
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