Draft analyst: Bears in 'good spot' to take LT or DE with Pick 25
The Bears need a left tackle and a defensive end.
This is a good year, then, to draft 25th overall.
“There are some years where your need and where you’re picking and you’re like, ‘Oh, crap, we better move one way or the other,’” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Thursday. “I think they can just sit right where they are and see how it falls.”
The Bears haven’t picked this late in the first round since they took Gabe Carimi 29th overall 15 years ago. GM Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson could still find a Day 1 starter on either side of the line at No. 25, Jeremiah said — and don't need to swing a trade to do it.
“They’re in a good spot,” he said.
With Ozzy Trapilo expected to need until at least midseason to recover from a patellar tendon injury and Braxton Jones about to become a free agent, the Bears are in the market for a starting left tackle, be it via trade, free agency or the draft. The Bears will continue to get a sense of the market when they attend the NFL Scouting Combine next week in Indianapolis.
Left tackles who could be available at No. 25 include Clemson’s Blake Miller, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor and Utah’s Caleb Lomu. Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor could climb up to that spot, too. The 6-5, 325 pounder moved to Los Angeles area from Nigeria in middle school and didn’t play football until junior college. Jeremiah ranked him No. 41 overall before he dominated during Senior Bowl week.
“He’s a big, physical dude whose best football is ahead of him,” Jeremiah said. “He could start getting ahead, into that range of the draft as well. Out of that clump, I can’t envision all of them would be gone, so you’re going to get one of those guys that would be able to be plug-and-play.”
Fano and Freeling are ranked No. 19 and 21, respectively, on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s list of top 25 draftable players.
At defensive end, the Bears could eye Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, who will be 25 when the season starts, or Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, who doesn’t turn 21 until September.
Faulk has an ideal body type and moves smoothly, Jeremiah said, but hasn’t shown the pass-rish production that teams want. Teams are “all over the map” about where he could get picked, Jeremiah said. Mesidor, who was born in Ottawa, has the ability to rush from wide but also from the inside when he moves to tackle.
“It’s just not fair with him against college guards — he just kills them in there …” Jeremiah said. “This guy never stops. There’s never a breath you can take when you’re trying to block Akheem Mesidor.”
At 6-3, Mesidor might be too short for Dennis Allen’s scheme. The same can be said for Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, who is 6-2 and, Jeremiah said, has shorter-than-ideal arms. Still, he could run a blazing 40-yard dash next week. Clemson’s T.J. Parker, Oklahoma’s R. Mason Thomas and Missouri’s Zion Young could be available when the Bears pick 25th.
Jeremiah put Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods on the Bears in his latest mock draft, praising his pass-rush ability. The Bears could turn to a standout safety class with their first pick, too, he said.
“They’re well-positioned for where they area,” he said.
The only sure thing in this year’s draft appears to be the fact the Raiders will take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall. Jeremiah said he didn’t grade Mendoza as high as the Bears’ Caleb Williams, Patriots’ Drake Maye or Commanders’ Jayden Daniels when they left college two years ago.
“He would slot in behind those guys,” he said. “But I think he’s excellent.”