The narrative around the 2021 NFL draft is beginning to take shape. Sort of.
With no NFL Combine and limited campus pro days this year, we’re headed for a first round full of chaos and unpredictability.
Still, there’s valuable information to be found in mock drafts, especially from the likes of Mel Kiper Jr. and Daniel Jeremiah, both of whom are well-connected with teams and front offices across the league.
Jeremiah published his second mock draft of the 2021 draft cycle, and his pick for the Bears is an interesting (and exciting) one.
At No. 20 overall, Chicago grabs Florida wide receiver, Kadarius Toney.
Jeremiah’s logic behind the pick is pretty simple: the Bears just need playmakers, even if Allen Robinson returns in free agency.
Toney is one of this year’s most electrifying playmakers and he’d be an instant upgrade over Anthony Miller. He has ridiculous change-of-direction skills and at times looks like his knees and ankles are made of rubber. His moves have moves, and human beings aren’t supposed to bend the way he does.
Is Toney a true first-round prospect, though? That’s a tough question to answer. At 5-11, 190 pounds, Toney meets the minimum requirements for an NFL wide receiver, and he certainly has the juice and athleticism to win out of the slot. But he doesn’t profile as the kind of pass-catcher who can win from anywhere on the field, and those are the guys I tend to value more as first-round players.
I currently have Toney as a high second-rounder, so Jeremiah’s prediction wouldn’t be a terrible pick for the Bears, but it would qualify as a bit of a reach.