The Chicago Bears have four picks in the 2024 draft. That means they must make each and every one of them count. GM Ryan Poles may try to procure more, but until then, he must make sure every evaluation is on point. One would think he’d stay focused on the position groups where the Bears have glaring needs. After quarterback, one can safely argue that is edge rusher, wide receiver, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle. If he can come out of this draft with a good player at one of those positions, it can be called a success.
That is what makes the recent updates about the Bears’ pre-draft visits so unusual. According to multiple insiders, the team has been busy lining up meetings with some of the top cornerbacks in this class. Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report revealed they were looking into Elijah Jones of Boston College. Justin Melo of The Draft Network reported that they were also bringing in Nehemiah Pritchett of Auburn the day before. Both players are expected to go somewhere on Day 2 of the draft.
The Chicago Bears clearly value cornerbacks.
That much has been obvious from their approach to the position since Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus arrived. In that time, the Bears have taken two such players in the 2nd round (Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson). Terell Smith also joined in as a 5th round pick, while Jaylon Johnson inked a lucrative contract extension. The thinking seems to be you can never have enough good cornerbacks, which is true in this pass-first era of the NFL. It isn’t hard to see the interest in Jones or Pritchett, either.
One thing the Chicago Bears love is big athletes. Both cornerbacks are above 6’0 and have tremendous physical upside. Jones has an insane 42.5-inch vertical. Pritchett has 4.36 speed. Both have good length to give wide receivers problems in press coverage. The sticking point for both is their general lack of physicality. Neither is overly good in run support. However, they do share one trait that undoubtedly got Eberflus’ attention.
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They get their hands on the football a lot.
Jones had seven interceptions over the past two seasons. Pritchett has three interceptions and 24 passes defended over four seasons. In a defense where turnovers are king, it’s easy to see the appeal.
Let’s not forget that deception is still, and will continue to be at play by all teams, all of the way through the draft. No team wants another team to jump ahead of them in the draft because they know that you want the same player they do. How many times have we seen teams that really wanted a player and then not include them in their top 30 and ignore them completely until they draft them, and then gush about how ecstatic they were that they got him? Or, them looking more interested in positions than they really are… Read more »
Weird. Especially when we still have issues at DT, DE, OL, and WR (where Dante Pettis is number 3). But Eberflus does love his soft zones, so maybe that’s it.
Not to say it’s going to go that way at all, but you need OL to protect your QB, and CBs to cover up all of Mahomes options. You will not sack him, his movement and vision are too good. You have to force him to check it down, or throw it away.