The Chicago Bears 3-9 on the season. Any hope of the playoffs ended on Sunday in their loss to the 49ers. So now eyes shift towards the future. Most of the chatter has understandably been about the fate of head coach John Fox. At the same time this is typically when a team likes to get a head start on off-season plans. Presuming GM Ryan Pace is safe as most expect, he no doubt is evaluating every 2018 NFL draft prospect.
So who will the Bears pick? It’s way too early to answer that question. Many things need to happen beforehand. The players eligible for the draft must declare their intent to either enter it or stay in school another year. There is the East-West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl, the scouting combine and the pro days. All of those events have a drastic effect on team perceptions of certain players.
Nevertheless it’s not unheard of for a GM or organization in general to fall in love with a certain player early. ‘Vontae Mack, no matter what,’ right? Well according to draft expert Matt Miller, that may be the case for the Bears.
With Trubisky in mind, Chicago drooling over this 2018 NFL draft prospect
It’s obvious to everybody that the Bears’ primary goal in 2018 will be building around Mitch Trubisky. They badly need to find better wide receivers for him to throw to. A trio of Dontrelle Inman, Kendall Wright and Josh Bellamy isn’t going to cut it. This raises the likelihood they may go after a receiver early in the draft, and one name is atop their list.
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“Mitchell Trubisky looks like he’ll pan out at quarterback, but to truly evaluate him or win with him, the Chicago Bears need a lot of help at wide receiver.
It’s fairly obvious the Bears cannot ever count on oft-injured wideout Kevin White being a contributor. If the team happens to get something from him, it’s a positive, but it isn’t something the front office should bank on in 2018. Cameron Meredith looks like Chicago’s best receiver coming back from injury next year, which means wide receiver is also the team’s biggest need.
Sources in the Chicago scouting staff have told me the team is all about Calvin Ridley from Alabama, but no wide receiver is ranked highly enough on my board to be selected in the top 10. Ridley or SMU’s Courtland Sutton have the skills to be No. 1 wide receivers in the NFL, but they might only be targets in a trade-back scenario.”
Ridley would be a fascinating addition. Scouts may be hesitant on him due to being 6’1″ and a tad thin. At the same time the results speak for themselves. Ridley is the only credible threat Alabama has in their passing game. Opponents know this and they also know the Crimson Tide QB is far from a gifted passer. Yet despite all that they still can’t stop him.
Calvin Ridley is going to be a star in the NFL.
— J.R. (@JReidDraftScout) November 30, 2017
His mixture of speed, quickness, route running and strong hands make him a complete receiver. He’s also proven against the best competition in college football. While taking a wide receiver early in drafts has typically gone against the Bears, this would be an understandable move if it happened.
