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Bears general manager Ryan Pace is coming off his most impressive draft of his seven-year tenure — at least on paper — following the selections of quarterback Justin Fields, offensive tackle Teven Jenkins and a slew of potential late-round gems on Day 2.
And while we’ve yet to see any of those players take a regular-season snap, there are already 2022 mock drafts floating around. The Bears don’t have a first-round pick for the third time in the last four years after trading it to the New York Giants to move up to land Fields.
In this new two-round 2022 mock draft from Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling, the Bears are selecting 11th overall, which indicates not a lot of confidence in Chicago’s performance in 2021. With their second-round pick, Easterling has Chicago addressing their cornerback need with Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner.
Here’s what Pro Football Network said about Gardner:
The Cincinnati CB immediately became one of the conference’s best defensive backs as a true freshman, generating 3 interceptions, 6 pass deflections, and 2 touchdowns in 11 games played. He only built onto that reputation as a true sophomore, again amassing 3 interceptions and 6 deflections.
In both seasons, Gardner earned first-team All-AAC honors. Yet, even that’s not enough for the star defender. Gardner doesn’t just want to rule the conference. He wants to rule the nation.
Following the release of All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller, to free up salary cap space, the Bears have questions at the cornerback position opposite second-year pro Jaylon Johnson.
Former fifth-round pick Kindle Vildor, also entering his second year, is coming off a strong offseason program, where he made a strong case to potentially land that starting spot opposite Johnson. There are also several veterans in the mix, including Desmond Trufant and Artie Burns, along with rookie Thomas Graham Jr.
Chicago should have several positional needs heading into the 2022 draft, including defensive line, wide receiver and offensive line. And unless Vildor or another young corner works out, add cornerback to that list.
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