Sometimes, it’s the little things.
On Thursday afternoon, the NFL released the official order of picks for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here is where the Chicago Bears will select in each round, as follows:
- Round 1: No. 20 overall
- Round 2: No. 52 overall
- Round 3: No. 83 overall
- Round 5: No. 164 overall
- Round 6: No. 204 overall
- Round 6: No. 208 overall
- Round 6: No. 221 overall
- Round 6: No. 228 overall
That second sixth-round selection at No. 208 overall for the Bears is of particular interest.
After trading Adam Shaheen to the Miami Dolphins for a seventh-round draft selection last off-season, that pick was officially upgraded to a sixth-rounder. Originally a conditional choice with undisclosed parameters, it appears Shaheen and the Dolphins did enough to scale that pick up for Chicago. In related news, it might be the most useful thing the former second-round selection has ever done for his original team. That’s both here and there.
The 2021 Draft is about a month and a half away. A team like the Bears with a litany of needs at positions like, oh, quarterback, offensive tackle, cornerback, and off-ball linebacker will have every opportunity to address such holes. And they now understand where exactly they’ll be picking to fill them in accordingly.