The five biggest draft needs of the Chicago Bears
By Evan Bruner
Chicago Bears Need No.1: Wide Reciever
This one shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Bears had one of the lowest-rated receiving units in football last year, and it will take more than signing Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown to fix that. Darnell Mooney has proven to be a quality target, but there is still uncertainty surrounding his ability to be the team’s WR1. Even without a first-round pick, there is more than enough depth for the Bears to come away with a quality receiver on day two.
Potential Targets
Former Georgia wideout George Pickens has been a player who has gained a lot of buzz among Bears fans. He has the size and physicality that could help the team rebound from Robinson’s departure and tested quite well at the combine. Injuries may have slowed Pickens down at the end of his time in Athens, but the former five-star recruit put enough on tape early in his career to show he has NFL skill.
North Dakota State’s Christian Watson has been one of the biggest winners of the pre-draft process. He has seen his stock skyrocket after solid showings at the senior bowl and NFL combine. Like Pickens, Watson is a bigger-bodied receiver and ran in the 4.3s at the combine. He didn’t face the highest level of competition in college, but he has enough upside that teams will look past.
Alec Pierce was Desmond Ridder’s go-to guy at Cincinnati in 2021. At 6’3 210 pounds, he undoubtedly has the size to get by at the next level, but he is a lot more than just a bigger-bodied receiver. Pierce was a big-play machine in college and averaged 17 yards per catch in 2021.
Bottom line: Ideally, the Bears could get a bigger receiver to add diversity to their receiver room, but more than anything, they need more talent. I’d expect them to use one of their second-round selections on a receiver and probably a later-round too.