Bears mock draft: Ryan Poles adds three defensive linemen to boost pass rush originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
We are finally just over one month away from the NFL Draft. It’s been weeks of prognostication, debate, discussions and more debates about what the Bears should do with the No. 1 overall pick. The decision seems to be crystal clear now, after Bears brass reportedly spent several evenings with Caleb Williams getting to know the man behind the player. All that’s left now is for the Bears to receive Williams’ medical information when they meet one more time at Halas Hall for the private team visit.
But the Bears have several more picks to make once they make their decision official on Apr. 25. They’ll have to address several other position groups– like defensive end– besides quarterback. The team does just that in our latest mock draft.
As always, this mock draft is not an attempt to predict what the Bears will actually do when they’re back in the War Room next offseason. That’s impossible. Nor is it meant as a recommendation of what the Bears should do. This mock draft is meant to be a fun way to discuss wild ideas, dig into some of the intriguing college prospects this season, and project how those players may fit in Chicago.
NO. 1: CALEB WILLIAMS – QUARTERBACK – USC
When the Bears traded Justin Fields to the Steelers it ensured that they will draft a rookie QB next month. Barring any crazy surprises, Williams will be the pick. His college tape is as good as it gets.
For all our coverage on the QB phenom, click here.
TRADE! BEARS SEND NO. 9 PICK TO RAIDERS IN EXCHANGE FOR NOS. 13, 77, 148 PICKS.
By the time the Bears are back on the clock the Big Three at wide receiver– Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze– are all off the board. So is highly-touted left tackle Joe Alt. So GM Ryan Poles sends his pick to the QB-needy Raiders who select J.J. McCarthy. Poles refills his draft chest a bit with an extra third-round and fifth-round pick.
NO. 13: JARED VERSE – EDGE – FLORIDA STATE
Verse was not the most consistently productive pass rusher this year (4.5 sacks over first 11 games, 4.5 sacks over last two games), but he beat his man at a great clip throughout the year (21.8% pass rush win rate). Verse also showed off a great blend of speed and power at the NFL Combine. His 4.58 second 40-yard dash ranked fourth among all defensive ends. His 7.31 second three-cone drill ranked third. Verse topped all defensive ends with 31 bench press reps. Those traits should play even better when lined up opposite Montez Sweat on the defensive line.
NO. 75: T’VONDRE SWEAT – DEFENSIVE TACKLE – TEXAS
What’s better than one Sweat rushing the pass rusher? Two, working side-by-side. There’s no indication that T’Vondre and Montez are related, but they could be best buddies rushing the QB next to each other. T’Vondre is huge and uses his size to stop opposing ball carriers. He came in at a whopping 6’4”, 366 pounds at the Combine, but he’s not just a beefy run stuffer. His 25.3% pass rush win rate was seventh-best among defensive tackles with at least 150 pass rush snaps. His six batted balls were tied for second.
It might seem crazy for the Bears to add another defensive tackle after using two top-75 picks on Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens, but with Justin Jones in Arizona the Bears need to reload on the interior of their line.
NO. 77: MASON MCCORMICK – GUARD – SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The Bears beefed up their interior by signing center Coleman Shelton and trading for reserve player Ryan Bates, but they could still stand to add more depth given Teven Jenkins’ and Nate Davis’ injury histories. In contrast, McCormick is as durable as they get, with an incredible streak of 57 consecutive starts for the Jackrabbits. He’s incredibly athletic, too, which the Bears love in their linemen. His unofficial 9.96 RAS score is the seventh-best among 1,445 guards who have been scored since 1987. McCormick was also a leader for the two-time FCS champions and was named team captain for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. Per PFF, he only surrendered three sacks, two hits and 17 hurries since 2020. Incredible numbers.
NO. 122: MOHAMED KAMARA – EDGE – COLORADO STATE
Kamara gives the Bears another extremely productive edge rusher to try to develop opposite Sweat. Dating back to 2021, Kamara had 29 sacks, 42.5 TFL, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. According to PFF, he was a pressure machine, too, ranking sixth in 2022 with 53 pressures and second last season with 64 pressures. Kamara won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award last year.
Kamara was told that most teams view him as a fit in a 3-4 defense, so he tailored parts of his Pro Day to show teams he can play well in a 4-3 system. The Bears are a 4-3 team, and they were reportedly in attendance for that Pro Day. We’ll see if they were impressed with Kamara’s display.
NO. 148: ISAIAH WILLIAMS – WIDE RECEIVER – ILLINOIS
DJ Moore and Keenan Allen are the no doubt WR1A and WR1B for the Bears moving forward, but the WR3 spot should still be up for grabs. There’s absolutely room on the roster for the team to add another young player to the mix, too. Williams doesn’t have exceptional athleticism or size, but he’s got good hands, good concentration and shows great ability to adjust to a pass mid-air to make a grab. He can line up anywhere on the field, and is equally effective in the screen game, intermediate part of the field or running deep.
Williams’ best ball at wide receiver could still be ahead of him too. He joined the Fighting Illini as a quarterback, and played wide receiver for the first time in the team’s bowl game back in 2019. He finally made the permanent move to WR in 2021. From that point forward, he caught 211 passes for 2,295 yards and 14 touchdowns.
