This time out the "they" I'm referring to is actually "us". Well, sort of us... Us as in SBNation. On their home NFL page, they have a mock draft up done by football writer Brian Galliford. His mock draft as of March 2nd had Chicago selecting Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod at 29. A good pick considering how he has the draft falling.
Here's what he has to say about the pick:29. Chicago Bears: Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State. It's not exactly a secret that the Bears need to upgrade their offensive line, and if Sherrod were to be available at 29, there wouldn't be a lot of war room deliberation. Sherrod had a nice career, is a solid athlete with experience, and might start at LT immediately.
Sherrod seems NFL quick, I'm just not sure if he's NFL strong. Yet. He would be a fine pick up and could start at LT from day 1 for the Bears, but he'll need to bust his butt all off season working on his strength. It does seem odd to say a 6'5" 321 pounder needs to add some size, but that's exactly what he needs to do. For those of you into arm length, his 35 3/8 is just an eighth of an inch shorter than the arm length of the 6'8" Nate Solder of Colorado. He looked fluid in his positional drills at the combine and he looked fluid in pass protection on film. It's his run blocking that he'll need to improve on.