Chicago Bears: Predicting the draft based on Ryan Pace’s prior patterns

Who are the players the Chicago Bears are looking at?

If we follow the names that have leaked out that the Chicago Bears have met or interviewed, we come across these names:

• Bradlee Anae (EDGE)
• Ben Bartch (OG)
• Antoine Brooks Jr (S)
• K’Lavon Chaisson (EDGE)
• Jake Fromm (QB)
• Matt Hennessy (C)
• Brycen Hopkins (TE)
• Curtis Weaver (EDGE)
• Gabriel Davis (WR)
• Yetur Gross-Matos (EDGE)
• Jonathan Greenard (EDGE)
• Antoine Winfield Jr (S)
• Grant Delpit (S)
• Jeremy Chinn (S)
• Julian Okwara (EDGE)
• Kyle Dugger (S)
• Kristian Fulton (CB)

These are just the list of top-65 nationally ranked players that have been rumored to have met with the Chicago Bears from today back to the Senior Bowl. The positions could be a giveaway, and I try to look at the rankings as well. Are these players within reach?

Then I look at the positions. Who is being compared to who? Last year, the Chicago Bears met with David Montgomery along with a long list of running backs to include Josh Jacobs, Miles Sanders, and Devin Singletary. What we see this year is that most of the offensive line, tight ends, running backs, defensive line, and wide receivers are players the Chicago Bears have seemingly talked with but are not top-50 nationally ranked players.

According to draftscout.com, there are four projected quarterbacks to go in the first round, three running backs, potentially a tight end, five receivers, five tackles, one center, three edge defenders, two to four interior defensive lineman, four off-the-ball linebackers, three to four cornerbacks, and two to three safeties.

With that, we are at 32-34 players that are projected 1st round talents. Which generally is about 26-28 players. Some fell due to injury. And expecting running backs early in the first round is a dangerous game because most NFL teams no longer value running backs that early.