Chicago Bears Seven Round Mock Draft 1.0

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Duke Dawson was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school. He was able to spend time at safety, in the slot and as an outside cornerback at Florida. In the NFL, he translates to the slot as his best fit.

Duke Dawson is quick footed and has a good ability to mirror routes in the short to intermediate passing game. His issue in coverage is his ability to turn his hips and chase wide receivers deep. Add in being under 6’ tall and he should translate well to the slot. He can match routes and change directions quickly. Bryce Callahan may be brought back, but he is not a long-term option in the slot. With his safety experience, Dawson can start in dime situations as a rookie with his eyes on jumping into the slot long term.

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Some may see the receiving corps as a whole and think that drafting one in the first three rounds is overkill. However, Coutee could be seen as a value in this regard, and as a timely skill player.

Coutee is essentially a cross between Taylor Gabriel and Tarik Cohen. He ran routes out of the backfield and made plays with the ball in his hands. He also took the top off of defenses. Gabriel has a high yard per catch rate, but a lot of that comes from his yards after the catch ability.

While Cohen can be a deep threat, he Coutee is a more refined receiver who can use double moves and the fear of quick breaking routes to allow even more separation deep. Coutee is just another gadget player who can get on the field in packages as a rookie. If something were to happen to Cohen or Gabriel in the short or long term, he would be there. Adding in that he has more deep threat ability than either of the two makes him a reasonable pick at this juncture.

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