Trade No. 4: Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints
Bears Receive
3rd Round Pick (71)
4th Round Pick (110)
Saints Receive
3rd Round Pick (66)
6th Round Pick (197)
3rd Round Pick: (No. 71): Deone Walker, DT | Kentucky
We saw what happened to the Chicago Bears' rush defense when Andrew Billings went to the IR. The team needs to add some serious depth and Ryan Poles has struggled to find quality players in the third round. He fixes that this year by taking Deone Walker out of Kentucky.
Walker isn't ready to be a starter, but he would make for a strong rotational piece -- better than former third-round pick Zacch Pickens. Walker is a great run defender who has the ability to shed blocks with multiple rip moves. He's very strong and can fill up his gap while pushing linemen into other gaps. He's the type of wrecking crew that this Bears team needs. The downside with Walker is that he can disappear at times. He doesn't have the most consistent motor and this is why he needs to be in a rotation -- at least to start his career. He also struggles to keep his pad level low at times.
Adding a player like Walker in the third round would be a home run for Ryan Poles and the Bears.
4th Round Pick (No. 110): Pat Bryant, WR
I'll be honest. Pat Bryant was not the wide receiver I wanted here. I was hoping to land Xavier Restrepo but his value has increased too much lately and he went at the end of the third round. Tez Johnson was another guy I was considering but he also went too early. That left me with Bryant.
It isn't that I don't like Bryant, I just felt like Restrepo or Johnson were a better fit as a third option with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. Bryant is a big-bodied receiver who is best suited as an X receiver. He is a physical route-runner with strong hands but doesn't have the speed needed to be a deep threat. He will need time to develop a more advanced route tree, but in the meantime can help set up some comebacks and underneath throws that should help make for easy completions. He's not a guy that fits into the current Ben Johnson offense that we saw in Detroit, but Johnson will adapt.
7th Round Pick (No. 235): Ben Sauls, K
Not much to say here other than I'm tired of Cairo Santos not being able to hit the long ball thanks to a lower trajectory to his kicks and a weaker leg than most other kickers in the NFL. Sauls should be drafted and allowed to make Santos a training camp casualty.