Get ready for a weird Chicago Bears draft nugget. So let’s start from the beginning. Last year the team made two big trades. The first came in April when they dealt their 2nd rounder in 2019 to the Patriots to move up and select Anthony Miller out of Memphis in the 2nd round. This was soon followed by the Khalil Mack trade in September.
That one saw them give up their 1st rounder in 2019 as well, leaving them only with their 3rd round pick among their top three for this year. It is locked in as the 87th selection of the draft. Nothing remarkable about that right? This is where it gets wild.
Guess which team held the 87th pick last year. That would be the Raiders. Who did they use it on? Young LSU defensive end Arden Key, their first official attempt to fill the void left by Mack’s departure. How’s that for a piece of fun draft trivia?
Chicago Bears draft focus should steer clear of defense at #87
Odds are the Raiders will end up disappointed with Key in the end. The 87th pick has involved a defensive lineman no fewer than seven times dating back to 1970. None of them were able to make even one Pro Bowl in their careers. The biggest success was Reggie Heyward in Denver and he retired with 39.5 career sacks.
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The Bears may actually have the far better idea in mind by focusing on the offensive skill positions at that spot. While the pick itself has never produced a star, it has delivered a few productive names at both the running back and wide receiver spots.
Ronald Moore and Vic Washington both had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in their first years as starters. Eric Decker had over 1,000 yards in three seasons during his career as a receiver in Denver and New York. Butch Johnson made some big catches for Dallas during their glory years of the late 1970s.
It would be a nice little extra icing on the cake if the Bears found a productive player with that pick a year after the Raiders used it to try replacing Mack.
