Chicago Bears 2023 NFL Draft: Bears address the trenches and trade down in full mock

Chicago Bears Draft Pick No. 258: DeMario Douglas, WR

Douglas is a Velus Jones Jr re-try. What will scare fans is that he has had six muffed punts during his career at Liberty. However, taking a chance on a guy in the seventh round is worth it because when he does field the punt, he is very dynamic with the ball in his hands. Douglas has scored two of the three seasons as a full-time returner. As a receiver, he continued where he left off even after losing star quarterback Malike Willis. Douglas finished as the leading receiver for the second time with 993 receiving yards and another six touchdowns.

Douglas is small. He lists at 5'8 179 pounds but has more than enough explosion to his game. Douglas ran his 40-yard dash at 4.44 with a 39.5" vertical jump and over 11-foot broad jump. Jayden Reed should win the job as the return man, but competition breeds winners. The receiver room should look something like this:

WR1: DJ Moore, Jayden Reed, Velus Jones Jr
WR2: Chase Claypool, EQ ST Brown, Dante Pettis
SLW: Darnell Mooney, DeMario Douglas

The Chicago Bears would have much better depth than guys like Joe Reed and Nisimba Webster. And if those who make the roster over Douglas and Pettis earned that job. It isn't perfect, but the Chicago Bears are not the Philadelphia Eagles. They have another off-season to get to that point.