The Chicago Bears could go in so many directions with their pick in the top 10. While there are some good choices, there are also some questionable decisions that could be had. Keep in mind that while these could be fits later in the draft, the question is more about whether or not these players would be worth a top-ten pick.
3. The Chicago Bears should avoid Devon Witherspoon in the top ten
I cannot deny that Devon Witherspoon has excellent tape. However, in the specific scenario of him with the Chicago Bears, and in the top ten, it is a hard sell. First off, he lacks the elite size you want from a cornerback if you are taking one this high.
We obviously saw the Bears not have a problem with this when they took Kyler Gordon last year, but that is kind of the issue. They were high on Gordon last year, but his size caught up with him at the next level, and because the team does not have a strong pass rush, he struggled. Devon Witherspoon is better than Gordon, but if they have two smaller cornerbacks out there and a bad pass rush, it is asking to put him in a bad spot.
After investing in Gordon and Jaquan Brisker last season they need to look to the trenches. It is hard to see Witherspoon being the best player available anyways when a tackle with prototypical size is there, or possibly even Jalen Carter.
Beyond his size, Witherspoon really broke out during his senior season. His yards per snap went from 1.18 to 0.48. It is not that he was not known before this season, but he was not this highly regarded. Some of the reasons for his great stats is avoiding Ohio State. When you look at his opponents, the best performance against NFL talent was probably a dominant display against Dontayvion Wicks.
Hit tape is solid, but he only has one year, he is a senior while most of the other top options are younger underclassmen, and he spent a lot of time beating up on weaker receivers, and reading poor Big 10 quarterbacks. When you add that to the reality that his role is not a need, you have to assume that someone will be higher on the Chicago Bears board.
2. Chicago Bears should not draft Bijan Robinson
When the Chicago Bears signed D'Onta Foreman and Travis Homer, it was pretty clear that Ryan Poles valued the running back by committee. He added running backs with specific skill sets that just so happened to complement his other back with a specific skill set.
However, there is still talk that the team may go with Bijan Robinson in round one. That would be pretty shocking. The question is not whether Bijan Robinson is better than someone like Paris Johnson and Jalen Carter, it is more about how much better he would have to be to pay this off.
Let's look at the franchise tag. If you franchise tag a left tackle, it is worth over $18M, and the same is said for a defensive tackle. If you franchise tag a running back, it is $10M. Carter or Johnson hitting their ceiling is twice as valuable.
Andre Dillard just signed for roughly $10M this offseason, so his salary is on par with Josh Jacobs and Saquan Barkley. B.J. Hill and D.J. Jones are the interior defensive lineman in the range of Jacobs and Barkley.
So, if Robinson hits his peak or is as good as Saquan Barkley, and Carter is just as good as B.J. Hill, they will bring the same value. If Paris Johnson is a bust, or as good as Andre Dillard, he will still be valued by the NFL as much as Bijan Robinson because it is that hard to find good tackles, and that easy to find good running backs. The game is won in the trenches, and running backs need offensive linemen to win.
If the Chicago Bears did not have to stare down the chance of Larry Borom maybe we can talk about Bijan Robinson. Until then, it would be an awful pick and a luxury for a team that was just picking number one.
1. Is Lukas Van Ness to boom or bust for the Chicago Bears?
If the Chicago Bears traded back, the option of Lukas Van Ness would feel so much better. As we stand right now, there are just too many real questions behind his profile. Beyond the fact that he did not start when he was on the field, he was too inconsistent.
His flashes were amazing and show why he is in this spot. However, his downside is a player who goes long stretches without being recognized. He has plenty of his game to be ironed out, and right now he is a bet on projection.
Beyond that, where he will play is a projection. Some see him out on the edge, some see him sliding inside. Does he play too upright on the edge, and he is too lean to consistently be inside? In the right role, he could be used well, but in a top-ten pick you do not want to clarify that you will have to scheme around him to get the best out of him. You want someone who will be a legitimate stud at a position you know.
Paris Johnson has to iron out some pieces of his game, but we know he is the left tackle, and they can work on specific things. He is a projection, but it is a clean projection. For Van Ness, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the projection is all over the place and much more theorhetical based on what you think he can do, not what he has done.