Chicago Bears: 7-Round 2021 NFL mock draft post-free agency first wave
The Chicago Bears made some moves at the start of free agency. They also missed out on others. Here is what they need to do in the draft to try to improve the roster.
Well, the NFL’s new year started this past week. With it, teams were able to sign free agents. The Chicago Bears were among the teams to make significant moves (both adding to and subtracting from the roster). They also missed out on other attempted moves.
They made an aggressive offer for Russell Wilson (three firsts, a third, and two starters) that the Seattle Seahawks rejected. As a result, the team went out and signed Andy Dalton. He is an upgrade from Mitchell Trubisky, but considering how the fans already had their hearts set on Wilson, it felt like they went from a Ferrari to a Pinto.
Additionally, they made a big, one-year offer for wide receiver Kenny Golladay, but he decided to take a multi-year deal with the New York Giants.
The Bears also made a move that shocked most of their fans — they cut former All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller. They asked him to restructure his contract but he didn’t want to, so the team tried to trade him. When that didn’t work out, Chicago decided to cut him.
The Bears may make some other free agency moves, but now their attention to the draft. They need to find some prospects who can step up and help the team win some games. They also need to find prospects who can add depth at certain positions.
General manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy could be on the hot seat. I say could because there may be a chance that they get yet another chance to run the team. If Pace finds a quarterback of the future and Nagy and his staff coach him up, and the additions to the roster play well, owner George McCaskey could feel satisfied that the team is on the right track.
If he felt strongly enough to give Pace and company another chance after all the missteps, it won’t take much to convince McCaskey to keep them even longer. For now, however, here is my Chicago Bears full, seven-round mock draft after the initial wave of free agency.
I don’t have trades in any of my mock drafts. If I did, I would include one here. I think Mac Jones is perfect for the Chicago Bears offense and Pace would do what he can to get him. That’s what he did in drafting Trubisky so he’ll likely do the same to acquire the quarterback to replace him.
Jones isn’t flashy in any area. What he is, however, is solid in just about everything. He just gets the job done. In 30 games with Alabama, he completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 6,126 yards. He threw 56 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions. His accuracy is out of this world.
Of course, Jones had All-World receivers surrounding him. Yes, that helped him, but looking at his film, his ball placement helped his receivers as well. His passes were pinpoint and no matter who was on the receiving end the passes were going to be completed.
Accuracy is something the Bears sorely need. Despite completing 64 percent of his passes overall, he has trouble completing passes over 10 yards. In fact, on passes going 20 yards or more, he ranked last.
If your quarterback cannot throw more than 10 yards accurately it causes trouble for the offense. Opposing defenses will be more aggressive on the receivers knowing that the pass likely won’t be completed. We see that with the receivers not being able to break free. Even when they do, the pass ends up being overthrown or underthrown.
Jones isn’t a very mobile quarterback but he can slide to extend a play. Also, he can tuck it and run to hurt the defense on occasion.
As I mentioned, Jones isn’t a flashy player who will be the greatest quarterback who ever lived. However, the Bears don’t need a quarterback like that (though it would’ve been nice to have one). Looking at game films, Nagy’s offense had plenty of open receivers all over the field. The quarterbacks just couldn’t get the ball to them. Having Jones helps that. With Dalton the likely starter in 2021, Jones can sit for a while and get even better.