Should the Chicago Bears take a look at Ohio State CB Denzel Ward with the 8th pick?
There are plenty of different directions the Chicago Bears could go with the 8th pick. If the draft goes ‘chalk’ with the top seven picks, it’s expected that 4 QBs, Quenton Nelson, Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb will all be selected. If that’s the case, it gives the Bears a wide open opportunity to select the next best player available. If any of the above mentioned three are available, the draft almost makes the selection for the Bears. But if the Bears have options, they may opt to select Ohio State CB Denzel Ward.
Draft analyst Tony Pauline wrote that the Bears are very high on two prospects: Quenton Nelson and Denzel Ward. Ward is an interesting selection.
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Some question if Ward will be able to play on the outside due to his lack of strength, but if a team does choose to move him inside (at least early in his career) the Bears could start Ward at nickel corner on day one. The Bears do have Bryce Callahan but he is still unsigned (Bears offered him a tender) and while Callahan has shown promise, he’s also struggled to stay healthy for 16 games and doesn’t appear headed to becoming an elite corner.
Ward is a great athlete with even better footwork. He should excel in playing man coverage and has the speed to keep up with gifted receivers down the field. Ward is also a ballhawk who has shown the ability to make a play on the ball and force turnovers.
Ward is a great pick to play nickel corner early and if he can gain the strength so larger receivers can’t push him around, he can make the move to the outside and could potentially be an elite corner when it’s all said and done.
While the Bears do need to get some young talent in their secondary at corner, picking Ward this high would be a bit odd for the Bears. Vic Fangio’s defense focuses on the front seven and doesn’t necessarily revolve around trying to find elite, shutdown corners. Using a pick this high on a CB would run contrary to what a Fangio defense needs. From a position of need, the Bears do need depth at CB, but there are worse trios of CBS than Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara, and Callahan. Chicago definitely has bigger holes to fill than CB.
Positional need should never dictate a first round pick (unless it’s a QB), so if the Bears truly believe Ward is the best player available when they select, they should take him. But has Ward truly separated himself from the rest of the first round corners? Perhaps a trade down and selecting someone like Josh Jackson could be a wiser move for Ryan Pace.
The other possibility is that the Bears love for Ward could be a smokescreen. Let’s say the Bears covet Nelson. If that’s the case, they need someone else to be selected in the top seven. The best prospects to go that high would be Ward and Minkah Fitzpatrick. If the Bears claim they love Ward, and a team behind them wants him, it would force them to jump Chicago and select him at 6 or 7, and potentially allow Nelson to fall to the Bears.
Ward could help solidify the Bears defense, but the argument could be made that there would be smarter choices out there with the eighth pick.