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The mock drafters at Walterfootball put in a lot of work, and senior draft analyst Charlie Campbell recently updated his six round mock draft which you can find starting right here.
Chicago fans, I'll cut through to the good part for you and list out the Bears haul according to Campbell.
1) Tyler Eifert, tight end, Notre Dame
2) Arthur Brown, linebacker, Kansas State
4) Dwayne Gratz, cornerback, Connecticut
5) Stefphon Jefferson, running back, Nevada
6) Ty Powell, linebacker, Harding
At first glance I'm surprised at no offensive linemen, then again Phil Emery didn't draft one in 2012 either. My second glance notices three players I know next to nothing about. Time to do some homework. As we delve more into each pick of this mock draft, I'm sure we'll find a spot or two where o-line could have been addressed.
Here's what Campbell had to say about Tyler Eifert, his 1st round pick for the Bears.
This is a surprise pick considering the Bears signed Martellus Bennett, but there are rumors that Phil Emery is still considering a tight end in Round 1. Emery made a surprise pick with Shea McClellin in the 2012 NFL Draft, so you can't rule out Chicago taking another receiving weapon. That clearly has been a focus of Emery's since taking over as general manager. Plus, Marc Trestman and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer both have heavily featured a double-tight end package over the years.
I talked a bit about taking Eifert yesterday in my Ten Thoughts post, as the buzz surrounding the Bears selecting a TE is building. Both Bennett and Eifert ran identical 4.68 40s at their respective NFL combines, both fit in the new breed of athletic TEs, but Bennett is a complete football player who is above average as an inline blocker.
If the Bears went with Eifert, he could be more of the move TE (or Joker), while Bennett plays a more traditional TE role. I would be excited to see what potential problems this double TE set would give defenses.
Other players that are still available at 20 in this mock are, Alec Ogletree, Desmond Trufant, D.J. Fluker, and Manti Te'o. Check out this portion of his mock and let us know if Eifert would be the choice for you.
His 2nd round pick is another player that has been discussed at length here at WCG, and with Campbell taking a TE in the 1st, grabbing Arthur Brown in the 2nd makes perfect sense. Brown would battle for a starting spot as a rookie, and could be a long term replacement at middle linebacker. Brown has been mocked to the Bears at #20 by some draftniks, so getting him in the 2nd round would be very good value.
Here's the 2nd round of his mock draft, and the one player that catches my eye that is drafted after Brown is Oregon G/T Kyle Long. I think Long has a very high ceiling at either guard or tackle, and I would be OK if he ended up on the Bears in the actual draft.
As it stands now, the Bears don't have a 3rd round draft pick, so adding some corner depth in the 4th could be the way to go. Dwayne Gratz had a very solid NFL combine, testing well in all the events, and looking fluid in the drills. Here's what Campbell had to say about Gratz.
The Bears could use some cornerback depth, and Gratz is a nice fit for their Cover 2 defense.
Gratz (5-11, 201) was one of the Combine's most impressive cornerbacks. He had a good 40 time, did well in the field drills and showed some power in the bench press. Gratz has really helped himself since the end of the season. He was solid at the Senior Bowl and clearly is a hard worker who puts in the preparation time.
Some scouts believe he could transition to safety, as his technique is sloppy at times. Here's the link to their 4th round, and a couple noteworthy players taken after the Bears are Travis Kelce the TE from Cincinnati, and Oklahoma QB Landry Jones.
I like the idea of taking a running back at some point, just to add some competition to the bottom of depth chart. Stefphon Jefferson in the 5th round is a player that has some catch out of the backfield skills, so he could work in a west coast offense. Here's what Charlie Campbell said about Jefferson.
The Bears have been showing a lot of interest in mid-round running backs, including Jefferson.
Jefferson (5-11, 210) took college football by storm in 2012. He finished second in the nation with 1,883 yards while averaging 5.02 yards per carry. Jefferson also caught 22 receptions for 170 yards and a score. His ability to thrive out of the pistol could interest a lot of teams that will be looking to copy the 49ers over the offseason.
While I don't think the Bears will be installing any pistol, the Bears could opt for the durable Jefferson in the 5th. My guess is a pistol team (49ers, Redskins, maybe the Eagles) will snag him up at some point. He seems like a classic one cut zone type runner, see hole, hit hole.
Here's his 5th round so you can see the other players that he picked after Jefferson. I do find it odd that he has a running back that most scouts rate above Jefferson, Oklahoma State's Joseph Randle, going after the Bears. Randle would fit the WCO as well, and he may be the better prospect.
The Bears final pick in the '13 NFL Draft is in the 6tj round, and this mock has them going with the small school prospect, Ty Powell. I've never even heard of Harding University, nor would I even think they would have enough prospects for a pro day, but they did, and Powell "looked good in the drills and displayed exceptional ball skills."
Here's what this mock has to say.
Powell (6-2, 246) was one of the stars at the Combine and has continued to improve his standing with NFL scouts. He impressed scouts at his pro day with his movement skills at linebacker. Powell played defensive end, safety and linebacker during college.
The senior had 15 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, 40 tackles and four blocked kicks in 2012.
Even though he was a small school player, he was at both the Texas vs. The Nation Game and the Senior Bowl. He's relatively new to linebacker, having played in high school as a corner and quarterback, and in college as a safety and defensive end.
Here's the link to their 6th round, some Bears fans may notice South Carolina wide out Ace Sanders was still on the board.
So what do you think Bears fans, did this mock knock it out of the park, or is it a swing and miss? Check out their mock, and let us know what you think.