Category: Latest Bears News

2024 NFL mock draft round-up: Way-too-early predictions for Bears

It’s never too early to take a peek at what experts believe the Bears will do with their two first-round picks in 2024. Our mock round-up:

The 2023 NFL draft is in the books, and rookies are getting acclimated to their new teams with rookie minicamps underway.

For the Chicago Bears, they welcomed 10 new draft picks to the fold, including top offensive tackle Darnell Wright, along with a slew of undrafted rookies.

While we’ll be glad to give mock drafts a rest for the foreseeable future, there were some way-too-early 2024 mock drafts that surfaced after the 2023 draft. And since the Bears have two first-round selections in 2024, there’s already excitement for next year’s draft.

After the 2023 draft, we rounded up the early 2024 mock drafts, where experts make their first picks for Chicago — where edge rusher and wide receiver are popular picks.

Bears sign four tryout players after rookie minicamp

The Bears signed four players following rookie minicamp this weekend, including UDFAs OL Josh Lugg and EDGE D’Anthony Jones.

The Chicago Bears wrapped rookie minicamp this weekend, where rookies hit the practice field for the first time at Halas Hall.

In addition to the rookie draft picks and undrafted free agent signings, there were a handful of players there on a tryout basis. And it sounds like some of them made a strong impression.

Following two days of practice, the Bears signed four tryout players in Houston edge rusher D’Anthony Jones, veteran tight end Stephen Carlson, Notre Dame offensive lineman Josh Lugg and Louisiana defensive back Bralen Trahan, according to Aaron Wilson.

Jones, an undrafted rookie, played in 27 games at Houston. He totaled 61 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks and had eight forced fumbles.

Carlson, 26, signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 2019. He appeared in 25 games, catching six passes for 62 yards and one touchdown from 2019-20.

Lugg, an undrafted rookie, started all 13 games at right guard with the Irish last season. He helped lead Notre Dame to 4.6 yards per carry, with a total of 2,457 rushing yards.

Trahan, an undrafted rookie, appeared in 13 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2022, where he totaled 78 tackles, one tackle for loss, four interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

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Bears 2023 seventh-round pick: DT Travis Bell

The Bears selected DT Travis Bell in the seventh round of the NFL draft. Here’s a quick rundown on Bell:

The Chicago Bears selected Kennesaw State defensive tackle Travis Bell with the 218th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Here’s a quick rundown on Bell:

Height: 6-0
Weight: 310
Age: 24
From: Montgomery, AL

Breakdown: Bell is an athletic defensive lineman that wins with energy and athleticism. However, he needs to add more mass to control the line of scrimmage at the NFL level. Bell provides depth to the Bears’ defensive line. He’s undersized for a nose tackle but plays with great intensity and passion. He has a knack for making hustle plays and will fit the HITS culture. — Nate Atkins

Dane Brugler’s scouting report: N/A

Lance Zierlein’s scouting report: “Bell is an interior defender with decent lateral quickness and power at the point of attack. He lacks the overall mass and anchor to eat up blocks inside, though. He has enough foot quickness and hand usage to work his way around blockers but might find his success rate plummet against NFL-caliber competition. Bell has traits to get a look as a one-gapping, even-front nose tackle but might need to fight for a spot as an undrafted free agent.”

They said it: “This is probably one of my favorite human beings,” Poles said. “He is a special person. I didn’t want him to leave after his 30 visit and he didn’t want to leave, either. There’s something different about this guy. He is passionate about the game. When you talk about having a full-time job during the season and showing up to the locker room in your clothes, with your ID badge and your little knife from his job, that tells you what the game means to him. He’s working and football and practice is recess to him, and those are the guys that we want.” — Bears GM Ryan Poles

RAS card

Highlights

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Bears WR coach Tyke Tolbert provides injury update on Darnell Mooney

The hope is Bears WR Darnell Mooney is ready come training camp.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney is on the mend following a season-ending ankle injury in Week 12 of last season. Before his injury, Mooney was the team’s top wideout during an abysmal passing season for Chicago.

Bears wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert provided an encouraging update on Mooney, who’s been spotted running during offseason workouts.

“He’s great with his rehab,” Tolbert said Saturday at rookie minicamp, via Courtney Cronin. “He’s running right now. He’d doing well…His attitude has been great. He’s in here every single day.”

As for whether or not Mooney will be ready come training camp, Tolbert said he “certainly hopes” that’s the case.

The good news is Mooney won’t have to rush back. The Bears overhauled their wide receiver group with the offseason additions of DJ Moore and rookie Tyler Scott. They join Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones Jr., and Mooney.

Mooney, a former fifth-round pick, has been a late-round success story for the Bears. He’s entering a contract year, where he’ll be looking to earn a second contract with Chicago.

In his last full season, Mooney had a monster season with 81 catches for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns.

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Bear Necessities: Recapping the 2023 NFL draft

In our weekly newsletter, we recap the latest Bears stories for the week of April 30.

This is our weekly online morning newsletter, Bear Necessities. Subscribe to get the latest Bears news delivered to your mailbox every day.

What’s the latest with the Chicago Bears?

With the 2023 NFL draft in the books for a week, we’ve still got plenty of post-draft coverage. From takeaways to winners and losers to rookie minicamp, there was plenty of news to digest.

Here’s a look at the most recent and relevant Bears stories for the week of April 30.

Bears signing TE Stephen Carlson after rookie minicamp

The Bears are signing veteran TE Stephen Carlson after rookie minicamp, where it’s clear he made a strong impression on the coaching staff.

The Chicago Bears are signing veteran tight end Stephen Carlson to a one-year deal, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Carlson worked out during the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend, and it’s clear he made a strong impression on the coaching staff.

Carlson, 26, signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 2019. He appeared in 25 games, catching six passes for 62 yards and one touchdown from 2019-20.

Unforunately, Carlson suffered a torn ACL during training camp in 2021, which sidelined him for the season. He didn’t play with an NFL team last season.

Carlson joins a tight end room led by Cole Kmet and free-agent addition Robert Tonyan. Jake Tonges and Chase Allen, two undrafted rookies from last year, are also on the roster.

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Photos from second day of Bears 2023 rookie minicamp

The Bears continued rookie minicamp on Saturday. Take a look at the action:

The Chicago Bears continued rookie minicamp on Saturday as rookies hit the practice field for the second time.

The practice featured the 2023 rookie draft class, a group of undrafted rookie signings and undrafted rookies looking to make an impression — and earn a roster spot.

Here’s a look at some photos from Saturday’s practice:

Bears rookie minicamp: Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens rotated between 3-tech, 1-tech

Bears DTs Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens rotated between the three-technique and one-technique spots during Friday’s rookie minicamp.

The Chicago Bears kicked off rookie minicamp on Friday, where their top defensive tackles in Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens saw their first on-field action at Halas Hall.

According to NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock, Dexter and Pickens rotated between the three-technique and one-technique spots. But Pickens saw more reps at three-tech, an indication that’s where the Bears envision him.

Pickens exploded off the ball and blew up the offense’s plan on several occasions. Dexter was initially quick off the ball but slowed down as practice continued. He did bat down a pass at the line of scrimmage.

Dexter and Pickens are both versatile defensive linemen who will factor into the defensive line rotation with Justin Jones and Andrew Billings. For head coach Matt Eberflus, he wants to see how they get off the ball and disruption this weekend during rookie minicamp.

“I want to see movement. I want to see get off. I want to see disruption,” Eberflus said ahead of Friday’s practice. “We’ll be able to see that, the athleticism. Being a good D-tackle—we’ve had some good ones—it’s the ability to stay on your feet and stay alive on the play. Obviously, pass rush up the middle is going to be important. When you have a dominating force inside of there, or when you have two really good players in there, that helps you in a lot of ways. That helps you in your run defense, that helps you in your pass rush right up the middle. So we’re enthused by having those guys in there.”

The Bears had one of the league’s worst run defenses from a season ago, and Dexter and Pickens will both be integral in stopping the run heading into 2023.

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Bears rookie minicamp: Tyrique Stevenson vs. Tyler Scott was highlight on Day 1

Tyrique Stevenson and Tyler Scott spent the offseason training together, and it showed on Day 1 of Bears rookie minicamp.

The Chicago Bears kicked off rookie minicamp on Friday, where draft picks, undrafted free agents and tryout players took the field for the first time.

According to NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock, one of the highlights from Friday’s practice was second-round cornerback Tyrique Stevenson going against fourth-round receiver Tyler Scott.

Per Schrock, Stevenson went against Scott four times and Stevenson “won by a knockout.” It certainly helps that Stevenson and Scott spent the offseason training with each other, so Stevenson has a good idea of how to best neutralize Scott’s blazing speed.

“Definitely did good,” Stevenson said after Friday’s practice. “I know he’s quick and I know he’s fast. Me being able to get my hands on him a couple of times kind of threw him off. I’m a little bit bigger than him so I don’t he definitely don’t want me to touch him. But he definitely did good with his releases off the line. He gave me some work today and I gave him some work today.”

While the Bears won’t put pads on until late July, it certainly sounds like Stevenson had a standout performance on Day 1 of rookie minicamp.

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Where each of the Bears’ draft picks ranked on pre-draft big boards

We examined seven different pre-draft big boards to see if the Bears got good value or reached for a player in their rookie class.

The Chicago Bears welcomed 10 new rookies during the 2023 NFL draft, including some good value picks and some potential steals on Day 3.

General manager Ryan Poles’ second draft class was led by first-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright, as well as second-rounders defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and third-round defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.

We examined seven different big boards, including Pro Football Network’s consensus ranking, to see if the Bears got good value or reached for a specific player in their rookie draft class.

Draft Wire (top 150) :: PFF (top 401) :: Daniel Jeremiah (top 150) :: Todd McShay (top 350) :: Mel Kiper Jr. (top 150) :: Dane Brugler (top 300) :: PFN consensus (top 300)