Chicago Bears: Day 2 Targets – Offensive Skill Positions
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By now most fans are familiar with the potential first round picks for the Chicago Bears with the 7th overall pick. There is enough written on every sports site out there to quickly catch up on the top 20 prospects in the draft, but in case you aren’t a draft expert I’m going to break down possible targets for the Bears on both offense and defense on day 2, day 3, and after the draft in the priority free agent stage. This isn’t a top heavy draft, but it is almost as deep as last years which was considered one of the best drafts in the last 20 years.
I’m going to list at least one prospect at every position on both sides of the ball to give you some more info on potential targets for the Bears on Friday and Saturday. As usual, if you have any complaints or advice about my picks let me know on Twitter or in the comment section.
Day 2 Targets – Offensive Skill Positions:
Quarterback:
Bryce Petty, Baylor (6’3 | 230 | 4.81)
Has the size, arm strength, mobility, smarts, and all the physical attributes teams look for in a starting NFL QB. The main knocks on Petty are his lack of experience in a pro-style offense, almost no experience in a huddle, and specifically the in-ability to read defenses, look off safeties and find 2nd and 3rd options. In Baylor’s offense his primary option was almost always open, so Petty never had to cycle through multiple options and fool safeties. It may take a year or two for Petty to prove he can run a pro-style offense, but if he does he could be a top-16 starting QB in the league.
The Bears have Jay Cutler for this year at least, but as his contract goes on he gets easier to cut loose cap-wise. If the Bears new leadership isn’t sold on Cutler’s long-term future with the team, a guy like Petty who could be a quality NFL QB in 2 years is worth a 2nd-3rd round pick.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Sean Mannion, Oregon St (6’6 | 229 | 5.06)
Bears HC John Fox has shown a preference for tall QBs in Denver (Manning, Osweiler) and Mannion has the best mix of height and potential in this draft outside of Winston & Mariota. Unlike Petty, Mannion started in a pro-style offense for 4 years and his learning curve shouldn’t be very steep. He has good footwork and can run better than expected, but Mannion needs a clean pocket to be successful. When given time, Mannion has a cannon arm, nice touch, and the ability to look off DBs and throw WRs open. Where Mannion struggles is when the pocket collapses and he may struggle to stay on a roster if he ends up on a team that can’t protect the QB.
The Bears O-line was inconsistent last year, but the talent is there to be a solid unit. As I mentioned with Petty, the Bears can possibly get out of Cutler’s contract in a year or two and if they are going to develop a replacement now is the time to draft one. Mannion has the arm talent to be an NFL QB, he’s a better version of Mike Glennon, but is underrated due to playing on a Oregon St squad devoid of talent his senior year. If Mannion came out as a junior he would have been graded higher than any QB in this year’s draft besides the top 2.