2020 NFL Draft: Raiders select OSU CB Damon Arnette with Bears’ first-round pick

The Raiders drafted Ohio State CB Damon Arnette with the 19th overall pick, which was Chicago’s original selection.

For the second straight year, Chicago Bears fans have watched the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft wanting nothing more than to be a little more excited because their team had a selection.

The Bears traded two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack in 2018. Not that anyone regrets that trade. They shouldn’t. When you have the opportunity to add a generational talent to your roster, you take it.

The Raiders used the first of those first-rounders to take running back Josh Jacobs in 2019, which ended up being a solid pick.

As for that second first-round selection, with the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette.

It was one of the few shocks in this first round thus far as many had Arnette pegged as a second-round selection. Arnette was a name that had even been linked to the Bears in several mock drafts around picks 43 and 50.

Arnette is an instinctive, versatile cornerback whose physicality helps in run support, and he succeeds in press coverage. But was he worthy of a first-round selection? Was he worth half of Khalil Mack?

Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said about Arnette in his evaluation:

Inside/outside cornerback with NFL size and strength but a lack of fluidity and burst that might make him best-suited as a zone corner. Arnette will be at a disadvantage against vertical jackrabbits and will struggle to stay connected to NFL routes in man. However, he plays with good awareness in space and has the physicality in run support that zone defenses look for. His potential and success could be directly tied to what a team asks of him, which makes his evaluation and grade more of a sliding scale depending upon scheme fit.

While the Bears are certainly in need of help in the secondary, something tells me general manager Ryan Pace still doesn’t regret trading two first-rounders for Mack.

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