If the Chicago Bears are going to lose a number of their players due to salary cap problems, then they need as many ways as possible to add new bodies to the roster. Securing extra draft picks is never a bad thing. Thanks to some careful maneuvering last offseason, the team appeared set up to collect some compensatory picks for the 2021 draft.
OverTheCap.com believes depending on the league formula they would receive either two or three picks thanks to free agency losses last year. At last, the NFL came through with the announcement. The Bears shall receive two additional 6th round picks going into April. A nice little bit of extra pocket change for GM Ryan Pace. In total, he will have eight picks in this draft.
Comp picks! pic.twitter.com/w6KfZlNWPE
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2021
People should not turn their noses up at these picks either.
They’ve been known to produce some quality talent. In 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nabbed wide receiver Scotty Miller with a 6th round comp pick. Denver nabbed safety Will Parks in 2016. Super Bowl champion Ryan Jensen was drafted with such a pick in 2013. So while the hit rate is low in that area of the draft, quality players have been found on a number of occasions.
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Also, don’t forget the man in charge of them. Pace has his faults but he is one of the better GMs in the NFL when it comes to finding talent in later rounds. Adrian Amos (5th), Jordan Howard (5th), Eddie Jackson (4th), Tarik Cohen (4th), Bilal Nichols (5th), and Darnell Mooney (5th) can all attest to this. So don’t underestimate what this team could do with those picks.
Chicago Bears likely to use the comp pick formula again
If for no other reason then they have few other options. With the tagging of Allen Robinson, the Bears now have 21 pending unrestricted free agents set to hit the market. There is a strong chance a couple of them will garner decent contracts around the league. Ones that might net them some compensatory picks next year as well. Among them being Mitch Trubisky, Roy Robertson-Harris, Cordarrelle Patterson, Tashaun Gipson, and Cairo Santos.
Obviously retaining some of them would be preferable. Santos in particular but there is no telling what is going to happen. The Chicago Bears are still $17.6 million over the salary cap. They have a lot of work to do in order to find enough space to conduct business. The idea they might do some shopping in free agency seems like a fantasy at this point.
This means Pace can’t afford to flub this upcoming draft.
It could go a long way in determining the outcome of this upcoming season. Not mention his own future with the team. Anything short of a playoff run most likely costs him his job. Then those possible comp picks next year will fall into the hands of his replacement. That should make this offseason all the more interesting to watch. Pace is not the type to just sit back and let things unfold. Expect him to be aggressive.
