Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Ryan Poles trades down twice early, doubles up at WR
1.22 | Troy Franklin, WR - Oregon
Finally, Ryan Poles makes a second pick in the first round in this mock draft. After owning two picks in the top 10, Poles traded down twice to acquire a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick. This puts the total draft picks for the Bears at eight.
Although the 2024 NFL Draft has what appears to be a relatively deep wide receiver class — I have 13 wide receivers with third-round or better grades — I didn't want to find myself chasing at the position later. Troy Franklin is my WR4 in the draft and seeing him still available at 22 made my choice easy. Brian Thomas was the only other receiver outside of the top 3 who was selected. I have Thomas in the same tier as Franklin, but he is my WR5. Coming away with either of them at 22 would be a fantastic outcome for the Chicago Bears.
Troy Franklin would be a nice addition to DJ Moore. Franklin has a little more height to him at 6'2" but lacks some size at only 175 pounds. He brings elite deep speed to the group, but is a better route runner and has better hands than 2023 rookie Tyler Scott. Franklin can run most routes on the route tree and can bring some serious yards after the catch (YAC).
Strengths
- YAC Ability
- Elite deep speed
- Hands
- Ball tracking
- Route-running
Weaknesses
- Contested catches
- Size
- Press coverage