Chicago Bears: Grading every pick in 2020 NFL Draft

Round 5: Trevis Gipson, EDGE; Kindle Vildor, CB; Darnell Mooney, WR

The Chicago Bears had three picks in the fifth round. This is where things get murky. They made some curious moves. While some expected the Bears to move into the third or fourth round of the draft, they instead decided to load up in the fifth. Here are the three they picked:

With the 155th pick, the Bears went with an edge rusher by taking Trevis Gipson. This pick is similar to the Kmet pick. The Bears signed Robert Quinn to a five-year, $70 million deal. They could, however, get out of the deal in 2023 and save themselves $14 million. That is a big chunk of change that could help the team.

As with Graham, Quinn is getting up there in age. In 2023, he’ll be 33 years old. The Bears drafted Gipson as a projection. He is still a work in progress at the moment. He is athletic and does a good job of getting to the backfield, but his game needs some polishing. In 2020, he could provide help in pass-rushing situations, not as a fulltime backup. Hopefully, he progresses so if the Bears decide to part ways with Quinn, they have his replacement already on the roster.

Grade: B- — He’ll be a situational pass rusher to begin his career, but Pace is preparing for the future. He already has his starter when Quinn is off the roster.

With the 163rd pick, the Bears went with another cornerback, Kindle Vildor. This was a real head-scratcher. Vildor was Pace’s fourth cornerback selected in the past two seasons. He drafted Duke Shelley and Stephen Denmark last season. Add those four to the list that includes Artie Burns, Kevin Toliver, Tre Roberson and the other two starters, Fuller and Buster Skrine.

The Bears didn’t need another cornerback. Vildor may be a decent to good player, but the team is already loaded with cornerbacks. Additionally, there were other needs on this team. Some of those needs included a starting-caliber safety, a backup defensive tackle to help Eddie Goldman, and perhaps a backup running back. Instead, the Bears went with a short (5-foot-10) corner with tackling troubles.

Grade: D — He doesn’t offer more than any of the other cornerbacks on the roster. The Bears had more pressing needs than to add to the cornerbacks unit.

With the 173rd pick, the Bears went back to offense and selected wide receiver, Darnell Mooney of Tulane.

With the departure of Taylor Gabriel, the Bears needed some speed. They got that with Mooney, who ran a 4.38 40-yard dash (and insists he could run even better). He is a big play waiting to happen and can make plays at all three levels. He is explosive and creates separation quickly.

The problem with Mooney is his drops. As sure as he can take a slant 80 yards for a touchdown, he could drop an easy pass in a critical situation. If he could fix his drops problem, he could bring explosion and excitement to the offense.

Another question is Mooney’s body. He measures in at 5-10 and weighs 176 pounds. That didn’t bother DeSean Jackson, however, who has been productive over his 12-year career. Jackson has much better hands, though.

Grade: C — There were better options at wide receiver. Some scouts rated Mooney with a seventh-round grade. They could have gone for another need here and still grab Mooney later.