2021 NFL Draft: 5 Teams that made the leap to contenders

4. Chicago Bears

This might be a bit controversial given how maligned general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy have become with the Chicago Bears. Having said that, when you look at the best-case scenario for this franchise after what they did in the 2021 NFL Draft coupled with their recent history, you have to consider them a possible contender.

Of course, the Bears started off their draft in the first round by trading up. When Justin Fields, my second-ranked quarterback in the class, slipped outside of the top 10, Chicago felt they were in range to make their move. Trading up from No. 20 to 11, they got the Ohio State passer and immediately upgraded the quarterback spot from Mitchell Trubisky and Andy Dalton.

But the work didn’t stop there for Chicago and neither did the front office’s aggressive approach to the draft. In the second round as everyone was waiting for a run on offensive tackles, the Bears got that started with a move up inside the top 40 to take Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins, a player who can start immediately and upgrades the protection.

The Bears have been a playoff team in recent years in spite of horrendous quarterback and offensive tackle play. In the draft, they answered both of those questions emphatically. That should raise the ceiling of Chicago and vault them to being a much bigger threat than they’ve been previously.