Windy City Gridiron
Teams that draft outside of the top fifteen or twenty spots have far less freedom to target positions of need than rebuilding teams. Instead, they must take the best players that fall to them while keeping in mind roster weaknesses. They must also leverage redundancies on their roster by trading away older and higher-paid players and by allowing veterans to walk in free agency while retaining young talent that is still under contract.
With the emergence of Ozzy Trapilo as a stabilizing force at left tackle–and with the struggles on the defensive line–the assumption has been that Chicago needs to go “all in” on defense. Now that his recovery timeline is unclear due to his unfortunate injury, opinion has shifted to the idea that Chicago must draft a starting left tackle in April. That sort of declaration is emotionally satisfying but unrealistic. Instead, playoff teams need to try to plan free agency strategy around aligning needs with the likely availability of talent in the draft and then it needs to draft the best players available at positions of need.
With that in mind, I am going to offer a pair of mock drafts using the engine from Pro Football & Sports Network and making selections based on their board cross-referenced with the board from Drafttek, selected because when I have run cross-checks in the past, it is the most accurate “large board” that is already available. To be clear, while I am going to make adjustments based on scheme fit (I won’t be drafting 230lb edge defenders, for example), I am using the boards of other experts because this is an exercise in strategy, not personal preference. I also believe that at this stage of the process, the key role of mock drafts is introducing fans to some of the players who might be under consideration.
To prevent things from getting ridiculous in terms of offered trades, I am only allowing one trade in any direction in between selections (no trading down twice before picking, for example).
The first mock draft is going to involve reaching for positions of perceived need in order–interior defensive lineman, starting left tackle, starting safety, and rotational edge defender. The second is going to involve maximizing the long-term approach and trading “in,” trying to maximize the best players who fall to Chicago while considering positional needs but not prioritizing them or getting hungry for individual players. To be clear, I am not aiming to build a poor draft either way.
# 25) Kayden McDonald, NT (Ohio State): If this were to happen, Poles would likely be thrilled and Dennis Allen would be beside himself–but Drew Dalman would likely need a very good health and nutrition program in order to keep up with practice. I suspect that when the actual draft rolls around, McDonald will be gone before Chicago drafts.
TRADE UP- As soon as Isaiah World went off the board, I had to make a hard decision on whether or not...
