The Chicago Bears entered day three of the 2022 NFL draft with three picks and found a way to turn that into eight picks. It did cost a future sixth, but the rest was through the magic of the trade-down. This is a stark difference from Ryan Pace, who put Poles in this position by being so prone to trading away draft capital.
With that in mind, the entirety of the draft entering the weekend was smaller than what the Chicago Bears ended up selecting on day three. It leads to an exciting day. While they made the picks in order, some were better than others and the order did not quite matter. Who was the best value picks that the team made on day three?
8. Trenton Gill, P, NC State
7. Elijah Hicks, S, Cal
With the thought that we are going to throw the draft capital out the window, the Bears’ six other picks were in a range of about 60 picks from each other. These two picks finished off the draft very late and gave the Bears two UDFAs that they were worried about not signing.
In the case of Trenton Gill, it is pretty straightforward. The team just signed Ryan Winslow this offseason, he is not locked onto the roster, so we will have a good old-fashioned punter duel this summer.
For Elijah Hicks, he is going to be competing with DeAndre Houston-Carson and Dane Cruikshank for the last safety spot. It is hard to see him winning that duel, as these are two veterans that present special teams’ value.
Hicks is probably best suited for practice squad work, but those two safeties are signed to one-year deals, so he could step in as depth next season.
6. Trestan Ebner, pick 203, RB, Baylor
This pick could end up being better than it looks on the surface, but you have to wonder about the value here. On one hand, the team really does not need a running back. They not only have David Montgomery, and Khalil Hebert, they claimed Darrynton Evans off of waivers.
Sure, Evans should not be handed the job, but that is likely who is competing with. That is because the argument for Ebner is that he brings receiving upside, and is almost more of a thicker gadget player than anything.
Still, Evans brings similar traits, and while Ebner is supposed to be heralded for his kick return upside, Evans was a notable kick return option as well. What makes it even more interesting is that the team drafted Velus Jones in the third round, and they talked about his return game upside.
In a perfect world, Jones is such a good wideout that they do not want him on special teams, but for now, that is a part of what sold the team on him going so high. If Ebner, Evans, and Jones can all return kicks, is the added upside from Ebner having this trait worth it? Surely if he beats Evans out it will be a fine pick, but that is the question at this point.
5. Doug Kramer, pick 207, C, Illinois
Doug Kramer is going to be an interesting pick that Is worth following for the Chicago Bears. The local product grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois, and was going to be a walk-on at Illinois before the school wound up offering him a scholarship.
Kramer did not look back and became a starter for the Illini, and was a team captain for the past three seasons. Kramer comes into the NFL with experience to compete for a roster spot, and we know that the offensive line has issues.
Lucas Patrick was signed, but only had one season of legitimate play, and Sam Mustipher is a big question. When you add Doug Kramer into the mix you now have depth at center and you can let all three push each other and find out how the pecking order plays out and who is the best of the group.
What is holding Kramer back is that physically he is a bit shorter, a bit thinner, and has smaller arms than you would want from an NFL player. He is going to lose against bigger nose tackles and get driven back.
However, in a zone-blocking system, you can scheme against that at times, so long as he can provide adequate athleticism. That is what we are about to find out.
4. Dominique Robinson, pick 174, EDGE, Miami (OH)
It could end up foolish that we have Robinson this low when we look back on him, especially considering this is a player we profiled and thought about as an option at pick 148 before the draft even started.
Still, the thought was before the draft that while he is the type of player you bet on during the third day of the draft, he is a bit of a luxury option for a Chicago Bears team that is missing a lot in the heart of their roster.
Still, if Robinson hits the upside he has is certainly greater than the others listed before, and possibly as high as anyone on this list. Robinson has athletic traits and bends around the edge which is tough to teach. Still, that is about all that he has right now and all that he can be is a rotational pass rusher that is schemed looks.
He can settle into the fourth edge rusher role, and Ryan Poles clearly thought that he was much higher rated than where he was falling, but there are questions of how much this pick can impact the roster.
3. Ja’Tyre Carter, pick 226, OL, Southern
Ja’Tyre Carter is one of the better picks based on his potential and upside. Carter was a left tackle at Southern. He is coming from a small school, and he is going to project to guard in the NFL so there were two things going against him that prevented him from going earlier.
However, he did get an NFL combine invite and showed out there, which showed the upside that could come from this type of player. Carter is a former basketball player and the athleticism shows.
Still, it also shows in his technique that he often does not know what to do. It is easy to be the best athlete and get by at Southern but that will not be the case in the NFL. His footwork is too sloppy when moving backward, but he is so light on his feet when getting downhill that you can envision him being able to pull and get to the second level as a guard.
The transition is all projection, but that is what you are doing on day three. This is the type of player that you could see become a big hit.
2. Zachary Thomas pick186, San Diego State
Zach Thomas is another player who became a great value based on where he went. Thomas is a bit raw in his technique as well, and there are questions about what offensive line he could slot into.
Thomas bounced around at SDSU and took snaps at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard. Ryan Poles said he wanted to fill the room with the offensive lineman and then fill out the roles when the best five rose to the top. Getting someone like Thomas to fill the depth in this draft is what he was talking about, and he can take reps everywhere until he finds a home that he knows best.
That includes possibly checking into right guard and being a competition to start next season. If the Bears could find that on day three of the first draft of Ryan Poles then the rest of the picks could be misses on day three and it would still look pretty solid overall.
1. Braxton Jones pick, 168, Southern Utah
Braxton Jones is one of the more exciting picks that the Bears made on both days. Fans have been clamoring to fix the offensive line, and with Braxton Jones, they are at least taking a swing at a starting left tackle that they found in the fifth round.
Like Carter, Jones was first a basketball player. Once again, this shows when you see his athletic profile. Braxton Jones is very light on his feet and is a great mover in space. Still, like Carter, the two went the small school route because they were still relatively new to football and they were still raw in their technique.
Jones has the length, size, and a bit better tape than Carter that shows that he could be a starting left tackle in the NFL. Still, he needs to clean up a lot of his issues in pass protection for that to happen and that is why he fell so far.
The upside at this point is worth it. Ryan Poles said that the coaches he brought in were paid for guys like Jones, and he would be another great hit if he was able to push Larry Borom right off of the bat. Fortunately for Jones, the bar is not set too high.