Chicago Bears: 2018 NFL Draft grades for Day 2 picks

The Chicago Bears surprised on Day 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft, going in different directions and even trading up. Grading their selections.

Draft weekend is one of the most exciting weekends in the NFL season. Many young prospects fulfill their dreams of playing in the big league. Also, many franchises try to fulfill their dreams of picking up help in winning a lot of games. The Chicago Bears hope the choices they make help them become playoff contenders once again.

The Bears hit a home run with their choice of Roquan Smith in the first round last night. They got arguably the best defensive player in the draft.

Could they continue their fortune on Day 2? Let’s take a look at what they did.

Second Round, No. 39 Overall: James Daniels, C, Iowa

The Bears had a plethora of choices at 39. They could have gone offense and pick wide receivers Courtland Sutton or Dante Pettis. They could have gone for offensive lineman Connor Williams. On the other hand, they had edge rusher Harold Landry or cornerbacks Isaiah Oliver or Josh Jackson.

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They went with none of them. Instead, they went with a different offensive lineman. They selected center James Daniels out of Iowa.

Many expected the Bears to pick up an interior lineman in the draft, but they expected them to go after guard Quenton Nelson. Some even wondered if the franchise would move up to get him. They did no such thing.

In my final mock, I had the Bears drafting a center. I thought it’d be Bradley Bozeman in the fifth round so that was wrong, but I felt they’d go the center route. I argued that the best thing to do for Cody Whitehair is to have him stay at guard permanently. All the switching from guard to center just got to him last season. Also, they had to end the Hroniss Grasu experiment. The Bears decided to go with a center early and probably got the best center in the draft.

The first thing you notice on Daniels is his quick feet. He has elite foot movement. He is light on his feet, but when he needs to anchor he does so very well. Also, Daniels is quick for his size. His snap-to-step movement is excellent. He has no wasted movement and gets to the defensive lineman. He has excellent agility and takes good angles to get to the second level. His blocking technique is elite, and he works well with his guards.

Grade: A 

This is a great pick. He helps make the Bears’ interior line one of the best. This is now a line that can protect Mitchell Trubisky well. Yes, I know Bobby Massie is still a question mark, but I feel Harry Hiestand can help him get better. While Charles Leno has taken his lumps over the years, he improved a great deal in 2017 and should get even better in 2018.

Second Round, No. 51 Overall: Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis

The Bears didn’t have a third-round pick, so their night was over, right? Not so fast. You had to know that general manager Ryan Pace wanted to pick up another pick. The thing is, though, he didn’t get back into the third round. Instead, he made a trade to acquire another second-round pick.

The Bears traded one of their fourth-round picks (No. 105 overall) and a 2019 second-round pick to the New England Patriots for No. 51 overall pick. With that pick, the Bears gave Trubisky more help by drafting Anthony Miller. Pace’s job is tied to the young quarterback’s success and he’s doing whatever he can to ensure that success.

Miller gives Trubisky another weapon. He can stretch the defense with his excellent deep ball ability. I love his competitiveness. He feels he’s the best receiver in the draft and tells whoever is listening that very thing.

Miller plays with a chip on his shoulders. He needed that attitude to make it this far since he was a walk-on at Memphis. Even though he succeeded there, he still played like he needed to play his way onto the team. Now he’ll do the same with the Bears.

After being drafted, reporters asked him about comparisons to Antonio Brown, another receiver who came from nothing and is now considered the best receiver in the league. This was his response (via the Chicago Tribune):

"I want to be my own guy. I’m Anthony Miller at the end of the day. I don’t want to be compared to anyonel I believe I have attributes and skills that a lot of players can say they have. I don’t think there’s one thing I can’t do — I think I’m just a different kind of receiver, all in one. And some day guys are going to be like, ‘He plays like Anthony Miller.’ I believe I’m a one of a kind type guy."

Grade: B

Next: NFL Draft 2018: Grades for each first-round pick

I’ve already grown to love this guy. He has a huge chip on his shoulder and he just outworks everyone else. I can’t wait to see what he does when he gets coached up at Chicago. The concerns I have with him is his tendency to not concentrate as much on the shorter routes as he does on the deep routes. He’ll make the great deep catch, but drops the easy short one. If he cleans that up he could eventually end up like Brown. That’s a big “if” however.