Chicago Bears find foundational pieces on offense in 2021 NFL Mock Draft

In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears not only need to find immediate contributors that can help their offense, but they also need to find foundational pieces they can build around for the future. In this mock draft, I looked to address both of those issues to the best of my ability.

In doing so, I took my shots by trading back for more picks and sometimes back up with conviction to acquire the players I desired. I still ended up with eight picks in this draft, but the picks were much more desirable than having four sixth-round picks.

I made three trades in this draft which are as follows:

• The Chicago Bears trade picks no. 52 and 204 to the Cleveland Browns for picks no. 59, 110, and 169.
• The Chicago Bears trade picks no. 83 and 110 (via CLE) to the Washington Football Team for picks no. 74 and 124.
• The Chicago Bears trade picks no. 124 (via WFT) and 169 (via CLE) to the New York Jets for pick no. 107.

Chicago Bears Round 1, Pick No. 20

In most of my mock drafts, I target quarterback or offensive tackle first, so in this one, I changed the scenario and struck gold selecting my second-highest rated wide receiver according to my Big Board with the 20th overall selection.

Rashod Bateman started every game he played in for Minnesota. As a true freshman, he started all 13 games finishing the season with 51 receptions for 704 yards and six touchdowns. Then in 2019 as a sophomore, Bateman followed it up by catching 60 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bateman then opted out of 2020 and then opted back in and didn’t do much due to poor quarterback play, but still caught 36 passes for 472 yards and two touchdowns in five starts.

Bateman is a silky smooth route runner with underrated speed that he showcased in his 40-yard dash running an unofficial 4.39. He is a complete wide receiver that has every tool to be successful at the next level with good size, hands, contested-catch ability, deep threat ability, and many more. He is going to be an immediate impact at wide receiver no matter who drafts him. Plus, he’s used to poor quarterback play, so he will fit right in with the Bears!

A wide receiver core of Allen Robinson, Bateman, and Darnell Mooney would be absolutely lethal. That trio could make virtually any quarterback look good. Sprinkle that in with more deep threat ability in Marquise Goodwin and the Bears offense could be electric. Bateman could be groomed though to take over for Robinson as they are a similar type of wide receiver.