Could Chicago Bears let a WR fall to pick 48?
The Chicago Bears are likely to draft a wide receiver at some point on day two of the 2022 NFL draft. The question is when. While the team very well could take the top receiver on their board with the 39th pick, perhaps there is a bit of a game to be played.
The team picks again 48th, so if they have a priority at another position and a clump of wideouts still available, could they wait until the pick 48 and see how the board shakes out during those nine picks?
Chicago Bears should not wait to draft a wide receiver
Everyone has accepted that five wide receivers are going to get drafted in this first round. The question now is whether a sixth will join them, or when the sixth will go. The Chicago Bears would be fortunate to see the sixth wideout drafted fall to 39.
According to Grinding the Mocks, a site that compiles all mock drafts to find an average, has the following receivers with their average draft position.
Jahan Dotson 30.8
Christian Watson 33.4
George Pickens 38.9
Skyy Moore 42.5
The hope is that two or three of these four falls, but perhaps just one will according to Grinding the Mocks. What is fascinating is the draft position of the next wideout selected after these four.
John Metchie 76
Wan’Dale Robinson 78.8
Calvin Austin 80.6
Alec Pierce 80.7
David Bell 83.2
Jalen Tolbert 86.3
Essentially between pick 43 and 76 there are no wide receivers. The Chicago Bears pick 71st, so the real debate appears to be less about 39 and 48, and more about 39 and 71.
Since this is a surprising gap, we looked to the PFF mock draft to find their average draft position.
Skyy Moore 36
Jahan Dotson 36
George Pickens 44
Christian Watson 53
A different order, and in this case one wideout actually does fall past 48. Still, it seems more likely that none will. Beyond that, while the gap is not as big, there is a gap between Watson and the next wideout.
Alec Pierce 68
Jalen Tolbert 73
John Metchie 75
Wan’Dale Robinson 78.8
Calvin Austin 84
David Bell 93
Pierce goes slightly above 71 in this mock, but the reality is that a cluster of wideouts is likely to drop to 71.
There are four primary wide-outs who appear set to get taken in the round two range. What could make the Bears even more aggressive to take on at 39 would be the teams behind them.
In between pick 39 and 48 sits the Colts, Commanders, Browns, and Falcons. All four could be wide receiver starved. The team could see themselves passing on a wideout at 39, watching four wideouts go between 40 and 47, and then find themselves in a spot where they do not want to reach for a player who may slip closer to 71.
Next. Mock Draft 4.0. dark
If the Chicago Bears are going to take a wide receiver in the second round, they have to do it at pick 39. If they wait, they might as well wait until pick 71.