Will Chicago Bears draft a safety?
With HaHa Clinton-Dix signed for just one season, will the Chicago Bears draft a safety?
With the signing of Aaron Lynch, the Chicago Bears did an excellent job of filling all major needs before entering the 2019 NFL draft. While some needs still stand out more than others, the Bears will enter the draft weekend with the chance to take the best player available at every selection to fill those needs.
While it has become clear that the team will draft a running back at some point, and they may spend a draft pick on a kicker as well, the rest of their draft direction is to be determined.
An interesting position to keep an eye on during draft weekend is safety. While many fans expect a safety to be drafted at some point-even with one of the round seven picks-there is just as good of a chance that the team goes the entire weekend without hitting the safety position.
Below is the case for and against drafting a safety
Chicago Bears will draft a safety
While they signed Haha Clinton-Dix, he is still a player who was traded for a fourth-round pick and then did not perform with the team he was traded to. 2018 was not a great year for Clinton-Dix, and while he says he took less money to play for the Bears, he also may not have been seeing the offers he thought he would.
In a perfect world, Clinton-Dix has a big season, helps the Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl and finds himself a huge payday. The reality of that world is that he will not get that payday in Chicago. The Bears would accept this outcome knowing they signed a safety who helped them win a Super Bowl for under $4 million. Clinton-Dix getting paid elsewhere would help them get a compensatory pick, and this is where having a draft pick on the roster to step up in 2020 could matter.
The Bears are not prepared for Deon Bush to take a step forward, or they would not have signed Clinton-Dix. DeAndre Houston-Carson is the only other option on the roster and the Bears let him test the market this free agency period.
The Chicago Bears have met with Amani Hooker, Sheldrick Redwine, and Ugo Amadi. They are aware that they may not have a future safety on their roster and may look to draft one.
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Chicago Bears will not draft a safety
If Clinton-Dix is a great fit and likes playing beside Eddie Jackson how are we sure he is not the longterm answer? Even if he did not pass up life-changing money, he did take less to play with the winning Bears.
While re-signing Houston-Carson is not a deal breaker, they do walk into the draft with a viable depth chart at safety. The Bears do not pick until 87th overall. If they do not use that pick on a safety, what are the chances a player going after pick 100 will beat Houston-Carson or Bush out for a roster spot, let alone be an option to start over either in the future?
The three safeties they met with are interesting cases because each is versatile in position. Amani Hooker is viewed as a slot cornerback by some, while Sheldrick Redwine and Ugo Amadi have experience blitzing off of the edge and sneaking into the box to line up on slot receivers.
Considering they worked out four other slot cornerbacks, they are just as interested, if not more interested in filling that need this year.
The Chicago Bears have five draft picks. With running back, edge rusher, interior offensive line, and kicker as potential draft fits, they may be looking to fill other needs and hope to re-sign Clinton-Dix or spend an earlier draft pick in 2020.