In my final Chicago Bears mock draft for the season, the team picks up some help for quarterback Justin Fields and fills some necessary needs.
Well, this is it. The 2022 Chicago Bears draft is about a week away from happening. We’ve seen all the Chicago Bears mock drafts and speculations on who they’ll go after. On April 28th, we’ll finally see who general manager Ryan Poles decides on which prospects fill the roster.
The Bears certainly have quite a few holes to fill. They had over 60 percent of the roster become free agents. Poles signed a few back, let quite a few walk, and signed new free agents of his own.
His picks on which free agents he wanted had Bears fans puzzled, but he has a plan and he’s sticking to it. He’s the one getting paid to make the decisions and we’re here for the ride.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to try to predict what moves Poles and the Bears front office make. That’s what makes being a fan so much fun. We make predictions and then complain when Poles doesn’t agree or inflate our chests when he does.
As I mentioned, the Bears have a lot of holes to fill. Poles doesn’t have the number of picks to fill them all. He could decide to make some trades down to acquire more picks. He said, however, that he likes the prospects in the second or third rounds.
Does he wait until later to trade, or does he trade down early to acquire more picks in the second and third rounds?
We’ve seen from Poles foray into free agency that he won’t be moved by fan or so-called “expert” sentiments. He has a vision of what he wants and nothing will turn him away from that vision.
Here is my final Chicago Bears 2022 mock draft.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 2, #39 — Jalen Pitre, CB, Baylor
Ok, so many people will groan with this pick. The Chicago Bears have a huge need at wide receiver and offensive line, how could they pick someone on defense. Well, A: they have a huge need at cornerback as well.
Too many times last season we saw the secondary give up big plays late in games to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Jaylon Johnson was a good pick in 2020, but with the lack of talent around him last season, opposing quarterbacks didn’t target him much. They preferred to go elsewhere, somewhere easier to get completions.
Jalen Pitre gives the Bears a lot of versatility. He played the “Star” position with the Baylor Bears. That is like a hybrid DB/LB who can do it all. Pitre can cover passes, play the run, and rush the passer from the slot, linebacker, or safety spot.
Under head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams, the Bears want to be more aggressive and move players around to keep offenses guessing. They can do that with Pitre.
In 14 games in 2021, Pitre had 75 tackles (18.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 3 fumbles forced, 7 passes defended, and 2 interceptions. He is a stat stuffer.
Pitre has a high football IQ and processes info quickly. Additionally, he is a tough player who plays a physical game, something that Poles and Eberflus said they wanted in their players.
If the Bears want to return to being the Monsters of the Midway and terrorize offenses, picking up Pitre helps.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 2, #48 — Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa
Ok, so we get back somewhat to normal. The Chicago Bears pick up someone to help protect Justin Fields and open holes for the running game.
With all that’s happened (or not happened) with free agency so far, let’s not forget that the Bears need to provide Fields with whatever help they can to put the second-year quarterback in a position to succeed. They feel they finally have their franchise quarterback so they need to help him.
Poles might not be convinced that having Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom as bookend tackles is the way to go. That might be the reason why he allowed James Daniels, arguably the most consistent offensive lineman the Bears had, to walk away.
Here he drafts Tyler Smith, a seasoned left tackle, to take his place as Fields’ blindside protector. That way, Jenkins and Borom battle for the right tackle spot and the loser goes to the right guard. My bet is on Jenkins moving to guard. That is where most scouts believed he’d end up anyway.
One of the things Poles said that was lacking from the Bears’ offensive line unit was toughness and nastiness. Smith brings that. He was the tone-setter at Tulsa and played with high energy. He is aggressive and tenacious and loves being called a mauler.
In the run game, Smith has the power to overwhelm defensive linemen and open gaping holes. As a pass blocker, he is a wall that is difficult to penetrate. Adding him to the line automatically makes the Bears unit tougher and more physical.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 3, #71 — Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
The Chicago Bears find a wide receiver in the third round. Alec Pierce was a deep threat at Cincinnati but in the pros, most scouts project him as a possession receiver and an occasional deep threat.
Pierce is another one of those tough players that the Bears want on their roster. His motor is on high at all times. He also possesses a great combination of size, speed, hands, ball skills, and body control.
Down the field, Pierce kills defenders with his 4.41 speed and his ability to track, adjust, and secure the football in traffic with relative ease. He can do that underneath as well.
If the offense needs a catch to move the chains, Fields could count on Pierce making that catch. He is an aggressive receiver so he can make that catch in traffic, fight the defender, and make the catch. At 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, he uses his body well to shield the defender from the ball.
Pierce does a good job of finding the hole in zone coverage and settling there. With his size and strength, he will be a very good run blocker, which helps out the offensive line.
Pierce adds the toughness that the Bears are looking for. He could end up being Fields’ favorite target with his ability to make something out of nothing.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 5, #148 — Sterling Weatherford, S, Miami (OH)
Keeping up with the toughness that Poles and Eberflus want on their roster, we look at Sterling Weatherford. He is sure to become a favorite among fans and coaches. He is a big tackler and lowers the boom on the ball carrier.
Weatherford could play on sub-packages early on and with his high motor and hitting ability, he’ll be great on special teams. At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, he has the size to shine as a zone coverage defender. He had 19 passes defended in his college career.
Weatherford shines inside 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. He runs down effectively and is a great help against the run.
Weatherford is one tough competitor. He wants to stop everything in his sights. He has good pursuit speed and seems to find the ball. When he stalks the ball carrier, he does a good job of shedding would-be blockers.
He then does a good job of squaring up the ball carrier and using great form to make sure he brings him down.
About his hitting ability, Weatherford doesn’t just try to bring the ball carrier down. He tries to run through him and tear him to pieces. We will see a lot of big hits coming from him.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 5, #150 — Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
With the Chicago Bears’ second fifth-round pick, Fields gets another speedy target for him to use. This draft class is deep with wide receivers and getting Tyquan Thornton in the fifth could end up being as good as a pick they make as when they drafted Darnell Mooney in the fifth round in 2020.
This crop of receivers is so deep that a talent like Thornton gets lost in the shuffle. He wasn’t getting much attention in draft circles until the NFL Combine. There, he showed how good of a talent he is. He ran an incredible 4.28-40.
Additionally, he has a 6-foot-3 frame and 33-inch arms. Add to that a 36.5-inch vertical and a 130-inch broad jump and you have a freak of nature. He will cause defenders a lot of headaches.
The Bears want to put pressure on opposing defenses so the more they add the better.
Thornton uses his footwork, length, and speed to effectively create separation. That is one of the problems the Bears’ receiving corps had last season. Whoever was at quarterback had his passes contested on nearly every play.
Thornton has a high catch radius. That helps Fields when he has to place the ball where the defender cannot reach but where Thornton can.
The knock on Thornton is his weight. He weighs just 182 pounds. Many teams shy away from receivers that skinny, thinking that they’ll have trouble against physical cornerbacks and are an injury risk.
With that question and the depth of receivers, it explains why Thornton is rated so low. He could end up being a huge steal, however.
Chicago Bears mock draft: Round 6, #186 — Matt Araiza, P, San Diego State
With their final pick of the draft, the Chicago Bears help out their special teams. They let Pat O’Donnell leave as a free agent. They signed Ryan Winslow but he isn’t too convincing as a full-time starter.
The Bears are the sixth team to try him since 2019. In addition, in four career games, he averages 41 yards per punt and averaged 39.1 yards per punt in 2021.
This might be another struggling offense for the Bears this season. Poles basically put his eggs in the 2023 basket to begin the rebuild in earnest. With an offense that might struggle to gain yards, they’ll need a punter who can flip the field.
That punter is Matt Araiza.
The football explodes off of Araiza’s foot. He has some booming kicks. In 2021, he had 18 punts of 60 or more yards, including two of over 80 yards. His kicks are so powerful that he ends up with too many touchbacks on occasion. He needs to tone down the power a bit so he can pin teams deep in their territory.
Araiza also kicked off in college. He had 73 kickoffs in 2021. Of those, 62 of them were touchbacks. If the ball goes out of the end zone then the returner cannot have a big run. Cairo Santos is a very good field goal kicker but he doesn’t have a powerful leg. Araiza can step up and get long kickoffs.
Araiza punts the ball in a way that if a returner doesn’t catch it, it almost certainly keeps moving forward.
On open-field punts, which are punts made between a team’s own goal line and their 40, Araiza averaged an amazing 50 yards, leading the nation.
If Araiza is available when the Bears make their final pick, they need to draft him. His kicking prowess will be invaluable for the offense and defense.