Chicago Bears: 2021 Draft offensive big board Ryan Pace must follow
By Joseph Herff
It’s clear and obvious that the Chicago Bears need major help on offense for the 2021 season. The Bears haven’t done much to address it though in free agency only adding mainly mid-tier starters or back-ups to their roster. This could indicate that the Bears are looking to the draft to upgrade at multiple positions.
The Bears pursued Kenny Golladay and Trent Williams pretty greatly. This could be Ryan Pace tipping his hand that the Bears are looking for wide receivers and offensive tackles early since they missed out on both of these guys. Additionally, the Bears were all in on Russell Wilson, so they could target a quarterback as well.
The only offensive position the Bears may be satisfied at is running back as they have David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen back this season and they added Damien Williams into the rotation. Every other position group could get upgraded or depth.
*Each player will have a grade from 4-7 that corresponds to what they are and could become.
- 7.0 — The Perfect Prospect
- 6.9 – 6.7 — All-Pro Talent
- 6.6 – 6.3 — Pro Bowl Talent & Day One Starter
- 6.2 – 5.9 — Solid Starter
- 5.8 – 5.5 — Potential Starter / High-End Backup
- 5.4 – 5.0 — Raw Backup / Special Teamer
- 4.9 – 4.5 — End of the Roster / Practice Squad
- 4.5 – 4.0 — Camp Invite / XFL or CFL Talent
Chicago Bears Draft: Quarterback
This quarterback class is extremely controversial with multiple players that have moved a bit along draft boards such as Mac Jones and Kellen Mond. There isn’t much talent to be found though in this class as it is very top-heavy and could see upwards of five quarterbacks being drafted in the top ten picks.
- Trevor Lawrence, Clemson — 6.9
- Justin Fields, Ohio State — 6.6
- Trey Lance, North Dakota State — 6.6
- Zach Wilson, BYU — 6.3
- Mac Jones, Alabama — 6.2
- Kellen Mond, Texas A&M — 6.1
- Davis Mills, Stanford — 5.9
- Jamie Newman, Wake Forest — 5.8
- Kyle Trask, Florida — 5.7
- Ian Book, Notre Dame — 5.6
Player to Highlight: Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
Kellen Mond has seen his draft stock rise greatly over the past few months. After the season, he was discussed as a potential fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After seeing him more and seeing him at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, his stock has risen up to at the earliest the end of the first round in some cases.
Mond has all the physical traits to be an elite quarterback at the NFL level. If he puts together those traits and corrects his throwing motion, he could be a great quarterback and much better than some quarterbacks taken before him. He needs a system in which he can sit a season or two and grow, which would make him perfect for Chicago. He could sit behind Andy Dalton for a season or two before he takes over.