Chicago Bears: Mid-free agency full seven-round 2021 mock draft
With the 52nd overall pick, the Chicago Bears select Asante Samuel, Jr.
The Chicago Bears select Asante Samuel, Jr (cornerback) Florida State. The other top-three players on the board were Levi Onwuzurike (interior defensive line), Landon Dickerson (interior defensive line), and Elijah Moore (wide receiver).
The Chicago Bears signed Desmond Trufant as a veteran replacement for Kyle Fuller. I see Trufant as a placeholder until the Bears can strike in the draft as they did last season with Jaylon Johnson. During this mock draft, Northwestern’s speedster Greg Newsome II was taken one selection before Samuel Cosmi. I cannot stress it enough that this is a very deep offensive tackle group.
Had I not traded down so far, I could have been in the running to select Newsome II early and grab a potential tackle in round two. Instead, I locked up a starting left tackle and a corner to push for playing time now that Fuller is off the roster.
Asante Samuel, Jr is no stranger to the NFL. His dad played in the NFL for 11 seasons and accumulated 51 interceptions over that time frame. The Chicago Bears did their homework last season on a defensive back (Antonio Winfield Jr) whose dad was well accomplished in the NFL also. The safety never found his way to the team, unfortunately.
Samuel was one of the lone stars on a struggling Florida State team. That did not stop him from performing. Samuel had four interceptions (three in 2020) during his time in college. According to PFF, Samuel improved every year as well.
His PFF grades rose from 73.3 to 76.9 to 81.8. In 2020 Samuel allowed a passer rating of 46.2. Samuel is listed at 5’10 184 pounds. Tall corners on the Chicago Bears don’t seem to be the focus anymore since the Vic Fangio era.
Agility, toughness, instincts, and fluidity seem to be something the Chicago Bears have been keying in on since 2018. If the Chicago Bears want to man-up their corners more and allow Eddie Jackson to roam on the back end more, Samuel seems to be one of the better fits in that system. If the Chicago Bears took a corner earlier, the edge position could be of value here or another trade down.