HELP? WELP!
Bears likely won’t find fixes in draft for 2020 team
Every NFL team plans to build through the draft, but that is a big-picture, long-term approach.
The 2020 Bears are pretty much built, for better or worse. Without a first-round pick (barring a trade up) and with only two picks before No. 163, the Bears aren’t in a great position to find immediate-impact rookies where they need them most.
For one thing, their biggest needs are on offense. And so far, coach Matt Nagy’s offense — so dependent on timing, chemistry and repetition for success — doesn’t seem to be too rookie-friendly. Even those rookies who have gotten on the field have struggled to get acclimated: guard/center James Daniels, wide receiver Anthony Miller and running back David Montgomery among them. The Bears can still find starters at guard or tight end and maybe even wide receiver. But finding a difference-maker might be expecting too much.
The Bears are pinning their hopes for a rejuvenation in 2020 on growth from within. They still have 16 starters from the 2018 team that went 12-4 and won the NFC North, including all eight players who played in the Pro Bowl after that season. The re-emergence of the 2018 version of Tarik Cohen — or Charles Leno Jr. or Trey Burton — likely would be a bigger upgrade than any tight end, wide receiver or guard the Bears get in the 2020 draft.
The Bears have seven picks in the draft: two in the second round (Nos. 43 and 50), one in the fifth (No. 163), two in the sixth (Nos. 196 and 200) and two in the seventh (Nos. 226 and 233).
A year ago, without any picks in the first or second round, general manager Ryan Pace found a starter in Montgomery in the third round (after trading up from No. 87 to No. 73). Finding a Week 1 starter in this draft figures to be more challenging. Here’s a look at key areas the Bears figure to address in the draft: