The craziest, most out-of-the-box 2022 Chicago Bears mock draft
The Chicago Bears finally go defense in this 2022 NFL mock draft
With one last trade, because why not, the Chicago Bears finally select a defensive player in this mock draft. Ryan Poles follows Ryan Pace’s moves by trading with the New York Giants. This time it wasn’t a splash trade like the move from 20th in the 2021 NFL Draft up to 11 for Justin Fields. Instead, it involves some late-round options.
The Chicago Bears received the 146th-overall pick by sending their 2022 sixth-round pick (185 overall) and a future fifth-round pick. What is crazy is this trade has now eliminated every pick the Chicago Bears have pending to them in the 2023 NFL Draft. Yep, this mock traded every single one of the team’s 2023 NFL draft to make these moves. Crazy, right? Is it so crazy though, that I might just be the best idea out there? No, but it’s so much fun to think about.
With the Chicago Bears’ final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Ryan Poles selects cornerback Mario Goodrich out of Clemson. If Goodrich falls this far, I’d be very surprised. I have him graded out currently as a mid-third-rounder.
To summarize, I clearly don’t find this draft to be realistically possible. However, with the way the Chicago Bears salary cap is going into 2023, is it possible to go all-in on the draft in 2022 and then forego the 2023 draft and just sign top free agents to pair with young, rookie contracts? It would be a very out-of-the-box way of doing things and I don’t think Ryan Poles survives long if it fails. Insert the “that’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it plays out for him” gifs/memes because that’s how I think most people would feel about this mock draft.