Ryan Poles gets big value in this Chicago Bears 2022 Mock Draft

Round 6, Pick 185: The Chicago Bears select Penn State EDGE Jesse Luketa

With their last pick in the draft, the Bears go with the best player on the board, and it ends up being Penn State edge rusher Jesse Luketa. While Chicago would have liked to snag a cornerback or even a tight end at this point, it would be tough to pass on Luketa.

Before diving into Luketa a bit more, let’s just assume that at this point, the Bears will have already had signed a couple of cornerbacks in free agency. If that has happened, then the conclusion of this draft doesn’t look too shabby.

Now, Luketa would come in as potentially the fourth pass rusher behind Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson. The question becomes, would Eberflus try him at outside linebacker in their 4-3 scheme?

Luketa does have experience playing both defensive line and as a standing linebacker, so that gives him some versatility at the next level. He once said that he wanted to be the next Micah Parsons, and his 6-foot-3, 247-pound frame gives him that flexibility to play linebacker if he’s asked to.

The Bears do need to find themselves some outside linebackers to start within Eberflus’ scheme, so maybe Luketa is a diamond in the rough, here, and can prove he belongs as a starter.

The best way to describe Luketa is that he’s a strong tackler who does everything asked of him and never slows down. This is a player who plays 100 percent on every single down and was a team captain last year. Maybe, just maybe, the Bears find quite the steal in the sixth round.