Chicago Bears go after a quarterback in this 2021 NFL Mock Draft

Chicago Bears Round 5, Pick No. 153 via CLE

A converted safety (sound familiar?), Garret Wallow excelled greatly and transitioned smoothly to inside linebacker for the Horned Frogs racking up 90 tackles in 10 games in 2020 and 125 in 12 games in 2019.

In 2019, Wallow truly became a star for the TCU defense. He accumulated 125 total tackles including 18 for a loss. He earned himself All-Big 12 first-team honors. Wallow has great acceleration and instincts to get into the backfield, hence his 18 tackles for a loss in 2019.

Wallow isn’t impressive in pass coverage though despite his experience at safety. He excels best when stopping the run and filling gaps. He needs plenty of work before he can be a great linebacker, but in the fifth round, he’s a great find.

The Bears desperately need inside linebacker depth. They eventually had to turn to Manti Te’o in their playoff game against the New Orleans Saints when Roquan Smith was injured. Wallow could learn behind a veteran of the game in Danny Trevathan and potentially take over for him eventually.