The Chicago Bears offseason storm as begun, as on Thursday, they and the Buffalo Bills agreed on a deal to send wide receiver DJ Moore into the AFC, reuniting with Joe Brady, who is now the Bills head coach. The main piece of this trade is actually a second-round pick coming back to the Bears, which is pretty awesome value.
But the Bills also get a legitimate no. 1 wide receiver who is a 1,000-yard machine just waiting to erupt. You figure that Moore turns into the focal point of the passing game for the most part, which should help out that offense big-time. As for the Bears, they get another top-75 pick and could use that to either help acquire another big-time player in a trade, or use that pick to help soften the blow a bit if another trade goes down.
Let's try to sort all of this out and get into a Bears mock draft now that the Moore trade is known.
Updated Chicago Bears mock draft after major DJ Moore trade
Bears trade pick 25 and 57 to Raiders for Maxx Crosby
Could this be enough to get the deal done? Only time will tell, but it would be hard to say no to two picks inside the first 60 selections. If the Las Vegas Raiders are serious about trading Maxx Crosby, they'll find a partner, and the idea here should be to get back a ton of NFL Draft capital to help this rebuild.
Fernando Mendoza is likely headed to Las Vegas, and with that being the case, the Raiders will want to surround Mendoza with as much young talent as possible on both sides of the ball, and in Crosby's case, he simply might not want to play for this franchise again, which could be a thing.
The Pro Bowler would feast on the Bears and form a nice pass-rushing tandem alongside Montez Sweat, who is a capable player and a perfect 'sidekick' for a top-tier rusher like Crosby.
Chicago trades their own first and second-round picks in this mock draft to land Crosby, a top-flight player.
60. Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati
Another player who could end up getting traded is Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who is slowing down a bit and is on a large contract that Chicago might not want to pay anymore. With the pick that they got for Moore, the Bears snag Jake Golday near the bottom of the second round. Golday is one of the many capable linebacker prospects in this year's draft. He's a great athlete and could be a day one starter for the Bears.
89. Darrell Jackson Jr., DT, Florida State
Chicago should still continue adding to the defensive line even in the event they land Crosby, so they snag Darrell Jackson Jr. from Florida State. Jackson could at least help out to stop the run initially, but he doesn't offer a lot as a rusher.
129. Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
The Bears might now need another receiver with Moore out of the picture, so they could pivot to one of their mid or late-round picks to snag some help. They take Kevin Coleman Jr. from Missouri at pick 129. Right now, the Bears top targets going forward will likely be Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Rome Odunze, but there is room for another weapon.
238. Wydett Williams, Jr., S, Ole Miss
Chicago now looks to the secondary and takes Wydett Williams Jr. This could be a unit that sees some turnover, as the secondary currently has a ton of free agents that General Manager Ryan Poles has to sort through. Frankly, adding a cornerback or saftety is a Round 1 need, but as you can see, Chicago did not have a first-round pick in this mock draft thanks to the Crosby trade.
240. Trey Zuhn III, OC, Texas A&M
With the shocking Drew Dalman retirement, the Bears grab a center prospect and take Trey Zuhn, but the team should end up finding a capable starter at center here in the near future, so hedging that bet with a rookie prospect would make some sense.