Every week during the 2021 NFL season, we’re going to — just being honest here — overreact to what we’ve seen on the field for a different NFL team and begin projecting NFL draft prospects at positions of concerning need.
Think of it as a mini one-team mock draft, with early (Rounds 1-2), middle (Rounds 3-4) and late (Rounds 5-7) prospects at each team’s respective position of concern.
This week’s NFL draft makeover is for the Chicago Bears.
(Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports)
Monday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the Bears’ fourth straight, dropping the team’s record from 3-2 to 3-6 and into third place in the NFC North, four games back of the first-place Green Bay Packers.
There were three main takeaways from the loss through a Bears-centric viewpoint:
Justin Fields can play in this league.
The referees had a rough night.
The Bears need help at many other positions not named quarterback.
The Bears traded their first-round pick in 2022 when they moved up to take Fields. That certainly will hinder their rebuild in the short term, even while the deal still looks good for the long haul.
Allen Robinson and Akiem Hicks lead a 22-man crop of Bears players due to hit unrestricted free agency next March. Of that group, you can call at least a dozen of them starters or significant contributors. The team currently has in the range of $50 million under the projected 2022 salary cap, but some of that money will be earmarked for keeping their own players.
Plus, there’s the matter of the fates of head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace. Will both be back? Both gone? Nagy’s 31-26 record and two playoff appearances in three-plus seasons help his cause, but fans seemingly have turned on him since his 12-win debut season.
Who will be running the team and making key personnel decisions remains unclear now. But the team’s biggest…
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