Bears Need To Fill Three Needs From Their Two Second-Round Picks

There are times you have to get greedy. Tonight is one of those for Ryan Pace, the Chicago Bears’ general manager.

Needing to make up ground in the NFC North, Pace needs to find a way to fill three needs with his two second-round picks in the draft. He’s holding the 43rd and 50th picks, and either of those could be attractive enough to trade downs with teams that have multiple picks later in the second round of high in the third. 

Those teams: Jets (48, 68), Chargers (52, 57), Ravens (55, 60), Dolphins (56, 70) and Seahawks (59, 64). 

On the sidelines in the first round as a result of the Khalil Mack, the Bears watched the Packers do them a short-term favor by shockingly trading up for Aaron Rodgers’ replacement while the Vikings landed two blows. 

Minnesota’s additions of wide receiver Justin Jefferson and cornerback Jeff Gladney instantly improve a Vikings team that won 10 games last season. The Packers’ selection of Utah State’s Jordan Love rather than another target for Rodgers was a sign they think they can repeat as North champs without a draft headliner.

The Bears aren’t as far away as it seemed last November and December, especially not if Nick Foles can help them the way he did the Philadelphia Eagles. They need to find a path to add these three pieces on Friday night: 

A starter in the secondary — There appear to be six of those on the board but only two of those (Alabama’s Trevon Diggs and Utah’s Jaylon Johnson) are cornerbacks. Gladney was one of six cornerbacks taken in the first round, with the Falcons (Clemson’s A.J. Terrell, 16th overall) and the Raiders (Ohio State’s Damon Arnette, 19th overall, with the pick from the Mack trade) joining the Vikings in aggressively drafting corners who were seen as possible second-rounders.

The Bears have the 11th pick, assuming they don’t trade down with No. 43. In addition to Diggs and Johnson, safeties Xavier McKinney (Alabama), Antoine Winfield Jr. (Minnesota), Grant Delpit (LSU) and Jeremy Chinn (Southern Illinois) are in play.

An additional receiving target — Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet and Dayton’s Adam Trautman are tight ends with the ability to both help as rookies and to develop into Travis Kelce/George Kittle impact pieces. Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool is a similar receiver but more comfortable outside. Clemson’s Tee Higgins, USC’s Michael Pittman Jr. and Baylor’s Denzel Mims are the top wide receiver options.

Their version of Love —  While the Bears could also use an additional weapon alongside David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen in the backfield (think D’Andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor, if they slide to 43 or beyond), they need to think beyond Foles/Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. That means being aggressive to land Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, Washington’s Jacob Eason or Georgia’s Jacob Fromm. They’re looking at odds-against options (Anthony Gordon, James Morgan, Nate Stanley, Jake Luten, etc.) if they don’t draft a quarterback before their Saturday picks, which begin in the fifth round (163).

One final caveat is worth mentioning. The Bears also need to add some young muscle to the veteran offensive line. That seems a less attractive Friday option with seven linemen are already off the board, including likely targets Austin Jackson (USC) and Cesar Ruiz (Michigan). It won’t be a surprise if the pickings get slimmer for the Bears with Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland, Houston’s Josh James and Louisiana’s Robert Hunt now the best available.