Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Draft preview and predictions
By Joseph Herff
The NFL Draft is officially here starting on Thursday, April 29th at 7 P.M. Central Standard Time. The NFL Draft will be three days with Round 1 being on Thursday, Round 2 and Round 3 on Friday, and Rounds 4, 5, 6, and 7 on Saturday to close it out. All of the rounds will be televised as well.
For the first time in three years, the Chicago Bears will have a first-round pick. The last time they made a first-round pick was in 2018 with the selection of inside linebacker Roquan Smith at eighth overall.
General Manager Ryan Pace has been scrutinized for his past first-round selections as he hasn’t found a star outside of Smith in the first round. With Kevin White, Leonard Floyd, and Mitchell Trubisky in the 2015-2017 NFL Drafts, that isn’t a resume to brag about. He has made a living in the later rounds though finding values and stars in players such as Eddie Jackson, Bilal Nichols, Adrian Amos, and Darnell Mooney.
Chicago Bears: Day One
Pace has his chance to correct his errors of the past though and build off of his last first-round pick as last season Smith was a second-team All-Pro. It is hard to gauge what the Chicago Bears will do in the first round, but the consensus seems to be the Bears will be addressing offense.
The Bears have the 20th overall pick in the first round. With that being said, it will be some time before the Bears make their pick given how much the first round is dragged out. On the other hand, Pace could make a trade to move up in the draft and select a player as well, so paying attention to the draft will be important from the get-go.
The consensus of Bears mock drafts has the Bears selecting a quarterback, offensive tackle, or wide receiver. Some even believe Pace will trade up into the top ten to get his quarterback of whoever falls between Justin Fields, Mac Jones, or Trey Lance. Additionally, some have the Bears selecting a tackle of whoever falls between Alijah Vera-Tucker, Christian Darrisaw, or Teven Jenkins. Wide Receiver seems to be a consensus of Rashod Bateman with some fliers of Kadarius Toney and Rondale Moore sprinkled in.
Prediction: Chicago Bears select Offensive Tackle Teven Jenkins out of Oklahoma State 20th overall or with a trade back to acquire more picks.