Bears draft class – Syndication Server

Touchdown Wire gives Bears “B” grade for 2020 draft class

Despite not having a first-round pick for the second straight year, the Bears are garnering some solid grades for the 2020 draft class.

Despite not having a first-round pick for the second straight year — unless you count Khalil Mack — the Chicago Bears are garnering some solid grades for the 2020 draft class.

The Bears welcomed seven new members to their roster, including second-round selections tight end Cole Kmet and potential steal-of-the-draft in cornerback Jaylon Johnson. They also added depth with fifth-rounders edge rusher Trevis Gipson, cornerback Kindle Vildor and receiver Darnell Mooney and seventh-round offensive linemen Arlington Hambright and Lachavious Simmons.

While there are some that aren’t pleased with the Bears’ selections, initial reactions to Chicago’s draft class has been positive. Touchdown Wire certainly feels so, as they’ve given the Bears a “B” grade for their 2020 draft haul.

The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick in 2020 as a result of the Khalil Mack trade, but they were able to get an absolute first-round defender in this draft. Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson had minor injury concerns, but he’s one of the smartest, most-targeted, and mistake-proof players at his position in this class, and he should be able to take the field and start right away. Johnson slipped enough from his first-round talent that Chicago were able to take Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet, also in the second round. Kmet isn’t the most dynamic tight end in this draft class, especially on intermediate and deep throws, but he’s a good all-round player.

The guy Bears fans might want to get excited about in this class is fifth-round pass-rusher Trevis Gipson out of Tulsa. At 6-foot-3 and 261 pounds, Gipson isn’t developed in his technique, but his raw physical tools explode off the tape.

While giving out grades are premature — we’re certainly guilty — it’s always interesting to see how these draft classes and players ultimately pan out several years down the line. There can be high-ranked draft classes that turn out to be complete and utter failures or low-ranked draft classes that can thrive.

There’s a lot of potential for the Bears’ 2020 draft class — including some potential steals and late-round gems — and it’ll be exciting to see how these newest Bears pan out.

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Bears fall to 25th in NFL.com’s post-NFL Draft power rankings

Chicago doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in some national media heading into 2020.

It’s safe to say there’s not a whole lot of confidence around the NFL landscape when it comes to the Chicago Bears in 2020. Following a disappointing 8-8 outing where they boasted one of the worst offenses in the league, you wouldn’t expect to find many in their corner.

And following the 2020 NFL Draft, there are some whose expectations have dipped even further.

The Bears fell three spots in NFL.com’s post-NFL draft power rankings, landing at No. 25. Basically, they believe that the Bears are among the eight worst teams in the league.

Thanks in large part to the blockbuster Khalil Mack trade, which cost the Bears their first- and third-round picks in this draft, Chicago only had a pair of selections (two second-rounders) in the first 150 slots. That doesn’t make for easy team building in what could be a make-or-break year for general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy.

They did land the perceived best tight end in the class in Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet. They needed more than a broken-down Jimmy Graham in that positional group. Seven picks later, the Bears landed cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who could have a chance to start on a Chicago defense that might be asked to carry this team again. With a glamour-free draft class in tow, the focus around this team will quickly turn back to Mitchell Trubisky vs. Nick Foles. Remember when kicker was the only position the Bears thought they had to worry about?

The criticism fell on the Bears’ lack of draft capital in the first four rounds, where they had just two second-rounders. But they failed to recognize that Chicago did have first and fourth-round picks — outside linebacker Khalil Mack and quarterback Nick Foles.

It hardly seems worthy of Chicago slipping three spots toward the bottom dwellers in the NFL. After all, there were 16 teams that finished with less wins than the Bears in 2019.

Chicago’s offense was about as bad as a unit could be last season. Even with the concerns surrounding the Bears offense, people forget that Chicago’s dominant defense remains in tact — and, most importantly, they’ll be healthy heading into 2020.

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Bears slated to have fifth-worst class of 2020 NFL Draft

We’re still over two months away from the 2020 NFL Draft, but the Bears are already projected to have one of the worst drafts in the league.

According to Tankathon, the Bears have the fifth-worst point value for their draft class in the NFL. The point value is based off the Jimmy Johnson point system for determining a pick’s value for trades.

Currently, the Bears’ draft has a point value of 984.6. Chicago has picks at 43rd, 50th, 142nd, 146th, 177th, 181st and 211th. That’s subject to change based on compensatory selections and conditional picks (for Adrian Amos and Jordan Howard, respectively.)

The Bears’ seven draft picks is more than the five they had in 2019. Chicago didn’t pick until the third round last year, when they traded up 13 spots in the third round to select running back David Montgomery.

The Bears have no first-round picks for the second year in a row (the final first-round selection in exchange for Khalil Mack), and they only have four selections in the top 150.

The four teams with worse point values include the 49ers (695.0), Rams (667.0), Steelers (550.2) and Texans (512.0).

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