Bears mock draft: 2023 Ryan Pole’s re-racks strategies originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
We’re still two and a half weeks away from the NFL draft and teams from around the league are putting the finishing touches on their big boards. The Bears have almost certainly already made their biggest decision. Quarterback phenom Caleb Williams visited the team at Halas Hall last week to complete all pre-draft meetings between Williams and the team. It has been reported that Williams will not be making a top-30 visit with any other team, essentially confirming that he is coming to Chicago.
However, the Bears have several paths they can take with the No. 9 overall pick. Do they take one of the highly touted wide receivers to give Williams one of the best pass-catching corps in the NFL if they get the chance? Or will they strengthen his protection with a new tackle? If the widely expected rush on offensive players precedes their selection, the Bears could have a chance to grab the class’s top defensive player. Can they pass up that opportunity? Or will they trade back to add more draft capital since they only have four selections at the moment.
There are still many options on the table.
As always, this mock draft is not an attempt to predict what the Bears will actually do when they are back in the War Room next season. That is impossible. It’s also not meant to be a recommendation for what the Bears should do. This mock draft is intended as a fun way to discuss wild ideas, dig into some of the intriguing college prospects this season, and project how those players could fit in Chicago.
NO. 1: CALEB WILLIAMS – QUARTERLY – USC
Returning the card is currently a formality. Williams’ college tape is as good as it gets. The Bears raved about Williams’ character and personality after their meetings. A new era of Bears football begins on April 25.
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TRADE! BEARS SHIPPING NO. 9 CHOOSE JETS IN EXCHANGE FOR NO. 10 PICK, FOURTH ROUND PICK 2025
Last year the Bears had the No. 9 pick in the draft, identified Darnell Wright as the player they wanted, knew the Eagles — who were waiting one spot behind the Bears — wouldn’t pick him, so they moved back one spot. so the Eagles could draft Jalen Carter and grab a future fourth-round pick in the process.
The plan turned out excellently.
Wright showed the makings of a foundational right tackle in his rookie season, and the extra fourth-rounder allowed them to trade their own fourth-round pick to the Chargers to land Keenan Allen.
So with the big three wide receivers and Joe Alt all off the board, Ryan Poles uses the same move this year, knowing the Jets want to move up one spot to take an offensive tackle while keeping his eyes on a pass rusher has.
NO. 10: JARED VERS – DEFENSIVE END – FLORIDA STATE
Many mock draft simulators and public big boards have Verse going somewhere in the teens, but NFL big boards always look different and it only takes one team to grade a guy higher than all the others for a ‘surprising’ choice.
The Bears could be the team for Verse. The defensive end fits the profile of what the Bears are looking for, so it wouldn’t necessarily be “surprising” if they choose him over another pass rusher who might not be a great fit. Verse is both strong and extremely athletic. His 4.58-second 40-yard dash ranked fourth among all defensive ends at the Combine. His three-cone drill of 7.31 seconds ranked third. Verse topped all defensive ends with 31 bench press reps.
He’s not just a strong Combine performer, though. Over two seasons at Florida State, Verse recorded 18 sacks, 29.5 TFL, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Combine that with his 21.2% pass rush winning percentage in 2023 and 22.2% winning percentage in 2022 per PFF and you have a guy who should fit in well with Montez Sweat coming off the edge.
NO. 75: BRALEN TRICE – DEFENSIVE END – WASHINGTON
What’s better than one athletic defensive end? Two! Just as the Poles had a double dip at defensive tackles in 2023, he picks two DEs here. Some consider Trice a bit undersized at just 245kg, but Trice makes up for its smaller size with great speed, agility and an excellent engine. Trice never stops on a play and made plenty of stops on his second and third attempts. That’s the type of play that could set Trice apart from other Day Two pass rushers for the Bears.
Like Verse, Trice translated all of these great qualities into great production for the Huskies. During his final two seasons with Washington, Trice had 16 sacks, 23.5 TFL, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. According to PFF, Trice ranked tied for 25th in the nation with a 19% success rate in 2023 (min. 100 pass rush snaps). None surpassed his 27.5% winning percentage in 2022.
NO. 122: TAHJ WASHINGTON – WIDE RECEIVER – USC
We know the Poles aren’t afraid to reach for playmakers, so there’s a chance he could take a guy in the fourth round that many draft experts expect to be picked later on day three. With no more picks scheduled after No. 122, Poland will have to pick the player he wants most – regardless of whether this is considered a reach or not – if the team doesn’t take steps to add more picks on day three to add.
With Washington, the Bears not only add a dynamite vertical threat to complement DJ Moore and Allen, they also add a known target for Williams from Southern Cal. Washington’s 86.7% catch rate on balls thrown 20 yards or further was the best mark in all of college football among players with at least 10 goals last year, per PFF. So did his 39.7 yards per route, and his perfect QB rating of 158.3 when targeted on deep balls.
Washington was able to win even if he didn’t burn his defender deeply. He caught a whopping 75% of his contested targets. In three seasons at USC and one at Memphis in 2020, Washington caught 206 passes for 3,192 yards and 21 touchdowns.
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