Chicago Bears land two future picks in 2023 mock draft trade with Panthers

Chicago Bears turn their attention to the offensive trenches next

2nd Round | 39th Overall | Dawand Jones, OT – Ohio State

After addressing the trenches on the defensive side of the ball, Ryan Poles flips and turns his attention to the offensive side of things. This time, Poles looks to Justin Fields’ alma mater, Ohio State. Paris Johnson, Jr. is the top offensive tackle prospect from Ohio State, but after the Chicago Bears missed out on him, they look to add his counterpart, Dawand Jones.

I wasn’t as high on Dawand Jones before seeing him at the Senior Bowl. Jones is a massive man at 6’8″ and 360 pounds. I was afraid he lacked the ability to move quickly enough for the type of offense the Chicago Bears run, but he proved to be lighter on his feet than I originally thought. He will need to play right tackle in the NFL, meaning that Braxton Jones is likely to hold down the left tackle spot unless the Bears are able to add more talent in free agency.

Jones showed up big time at Senior Bowl practices and even proved himself during the actual game. He could struggle at times with speed rushers, but his extremely long arms allow him to put his hands on defenders quickly. He doesn’t fit the mold we have seen Ryan Poles covet for his offensive linemen though. Should Poles not like Jones’ size, then Blake Freeland could have been an option here instead. Freeland could actually line up at left tackle. He went one pick prior to Jones in this mock or I would have likely taken him instead.