This must be factored in when finding Chicago Bears draft fits

One thing we learned about Ryan Poles during his first run at free agency as Chicago Bears GM is that he is going to be patient. Poles spent on some names, but all of them were younger and cheaper as he starts the slow build of his roster.

Considering he leaned so young during free agency, it could make sense that he would do the same during the 2022 NFL Draft. While it is fair to say that age in the NFL draft is not quite as drastic as a 25-year-old compared to a 31-year-old, there is a difference.

This year we will see the biggest gap in age, and some of the oldest players enter the NFL draft because all players were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.

With that in mind, the Chicago Bears still may want to lean younger. Who are some players that may see a tiebreaker go to the younger name?

Will age matter for Chicago Bears at Wide Receiver?

The Chicago Bears have been linked to a few names at wide receiver for pick 39. One thing that is not discussed is that George Pickens and Skyy Moore are 21 years old while Christian Watson and Jalen Tolbert are 23-years old already.

It is easy to say that Tolbert and Watson are more refined in this area or that when Watson is playing for North Dakota State, and Tolbert is at South Alabama plus, they are older than their competition. If Pickens went to North Dakota State next year he would enter the draft at the same age as Watson and would be even higher in draft hype. This has to be factored in and you have to wonder if the Bears would prefer Moore and Pickens because they are younger.

Offensive Line

Tyler Smith already fit a lot of what the Chicago Bears want to do, but what may make him the perfect fit is that he has just turned 21 years old. It makes some of the technical refinement questions much easier to accept.

On the flip side, Kellen Diesch and Bernard Raimann are already 24-year-olds who will turn 25 as rookies. That is a similar age to some of the free agents’ Poles brought in. Even Abraham Lucas will be 24 as a rookie, which makes it hard to see him as a fit for the Chicago Bears.

In the interior Cole Strange, Justin Shaffer, and Sean Rhyan all will be 24 years old as rookies. On the flip side, Dohanvan West has not turned 21 yet, and Jamaree Salyer is still 21 years old.

Linebacker

At linebacker, both Christian Harris and Leo Chenal are 21 years old. On the flip side, Troy Anderson, the small school phenom from Montana State will be 24 as a rookie, and JoJo Domann is also 24-years old, and he will be 25 as a rookie.

Cornerback

At cornerback, Kaiir Elam is a player that the team may see fall to 39. He has not turned 21 yet and has three years of starting experience in the SEC. That is who you want to bet on. On the flip side, Marcus Jones is 23, will be 24 by the end of his rookie year, and he is historically small. Coming from Houston that is not as enticing.

Coby Bryant is 23, and Josh Jobe is 24 years old, making them much older than a normal rookie. Then, Martin Emerson is 21 years old, and like Elam has multiple years starting in the SEC at Mississippi State. He may be the sleeper of the cornerbacks.