Bears Mock Draft: Instant Contributors Chicago Can Find in Every Round
Every general manager in the NFL strives to find instant contributors with each of his picks in the draft, and the Chicago Bears' Ryan Pace is no different.
Pace has been one of the league's busiest general managers since taking over the position in January after the team fired Phil Emery.
"The first two months have been kind of a whirlwind,โ Pace said recently, according toย John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com. โItโs been like one continuous day, but itโs been good. Busy, but good."
Since free agency opened on March 10, Pace has added nine new players to his roster and re-signed veteran tight end Dante Rosario to a one-year deal.
Even with all of Pace's additions in free agency,ย the Bears still have plenty of needs to address via the draft on both sides of the football.
While first- and second-round picks are generally expected to make big impacts as starters, players taken in the later rounds can still have an effect on a team as either role players in sub-packages or as contributors on special teams.
Here is our latest Bears mock draft, where we focus on instant contributors Chicago can find in every round.
1st Round: Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Alabama
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Even though West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White appears to be climbing up draft boards, ESPN's Mel Kiper still thinks Alabama's Amari Cooper is the best wide receiver in this year's draft.
"In terms of Cooper and White, I'm still going with Cooper," Kiper said in a conference call last week, according toย Matt Zenitz of AL.com. "I've been consistently with Amari Cooper all along."
Cooper hauled in 124 catches for 1,727 yards with 16 touchdowns last season and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. In three seasons with the Crimson Tide, he hauled in 228 catches for 3,463 yards and 31 touchdowns.
According to NFL.com, Cooper ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in February, but Aaron Wilson of NFPost.com was told Cooper's 40-yard dash time was actually a little faster.
"Although Cooper is officially listed with a 4.42 clocking, according to NFL sources, scouts clocked him as fast as 4.31, 4.35 and 4.37 seconds on their stopwatches," Wilson wrote.
While there may be some questions about his speed, he has proven on the field he has the ability to be a No. 1 wide receiver.
"Amari is super athletic, very fluid and highly skilled as a route runner and hands catcher," former NFL general manager Phil Savage said, according toย Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. "Because of his reserved demeanor and similar ability, I compared him to Marvin Harrison during the season."
After trading Brandon Marshall away earlier this offseason to the New York Jets, the Bears need a No. 2 wide receiver to complement Alshon Jeffery. The team signed veteran receiver Eddie Royal to a three-year deal at the start of free agency, but he will likely spend the majority of his time on the field in the slot.
Cooper has the talent and ability to step in on Day 1 and be an instant contributor alongside Jeffery and Royal in Chicago's passing game.ย
2nd Round: Cedric Ogbuehi, Tackle, Texas A&M
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Even though Chicago needs to add more youth and depth on the defensive side of the football, Texas A&M offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi may be too difficult to pass up in the second round.
Ogbuehi likely would have been a first-round pick in 2015, but he tore his ACL in the Aggies' bowl game earlier this year and had surgery in January.
After spending 2011 and 2012 as a guard, Ogbuehi moved to right tackle in 2013 before making the move to left tackle in 2014.
He struggled at times at left tackle, but he showed in the past he can be a force on the outside at right tackle.ย
There is no guarantee he will be ready by the start of the 2015 season due to his ACL injury, but Justin Rogers of MLive.com tweeted about Ogbuehi's progress earlier this year:
"Ogbuehi is coming off an ACL injury, but the recovery is going well. He expects to be back by training camp.
โ Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) February 19, 2015"
Assuming Ogbuehi is healthy by the start of training camp, he would instantly give the Bears an upgrade at right tackle over former fifth-round pick Jordan Mills.
He is quick and athletic, but he also plays with power and is a terrific run-blocker. He needs to improve his technique and footwork, but he has the ability to anchor the right side of the offensive line for years to come. If the Bears want to move guard Kyle Long to right tackle, Ogbuehi also has the ability to play inside at right guard.ย
Even though Ogbuehi is coming off a serious knee injury, he still has the ability to be an instant contributor for the Bears in 2015 at either right tackle or guard.
3rd Round: Jaquiski Tartt, Strong Safety, Samford
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After adding veteran safety Antrel Rolle in free agency, the Bears have the ability to wait until the middle of the draft to add another young safety.
This year's safety class lacks a lot of talent at the topโother than Alabama's Landon Collinsโbut the Bears could find an instant contributor in the third round in Samford's Jaquiski Tartt.
While Rolle has the skill set to play both free and strong safety, he is likely better suited playing free safety, which would give Tartt the ability to compete with guys like Brock Vereen and Ryan Mundy for the starting strong safety spot.
Tartt has flown under the radar because he played at Samford, but Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen liked what he saw from Tartt at the Senior Bowl, writing:
"In one-on-one pass rush, Tarttย would win on the edge against tight ends or beat running backs in protection. During seven-on-seven drills, he played with good eye discipline as an underneath safety and displayed a quick burst to close the space to the ball. See it, and go attack the ball. It looked natural. And when Tarttย arrived at the point of contact, he wasn't shy about dropping his pad level. He's a hitter, and he flies around on the field.
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He has the physical tools to play the position, and Greg Gabriel of NFPost.com thinks Tartt could spend time on the field in obvious running situations and could be an instant contributor on special teams as a rookie, writing:
"He has the size, speed, athleticism and intangibles to be an eventual starting safety in the NFL. Right now, he is more of a box type player, but with coaching and experience, his coverage skills will improve. He has ideal physicality to excel on special teams while he is learning. Because of his outstanding football character, I see him becoming a starter sometime in his second year.
"
He could eventually beat out Mundy or Vereen for a starting role if he has a solid training camp, but at the very worst, Tartt could come in and become an integral part of special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers' group in 2015.
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4th Round: Tyeler Davison, Defensive Tackle, Fresno State
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The Bears addressed needs along the defensive line last week by signing defensive ends Ray McDonald and Jarvis Jenkins to one-year deals, but the team still has a need at the nose tackle position.
Jeremiah Ratliff and Ego Ferguson appear to be good fits for Chicago's new 3-4 defense at nose tackle, but the team lacks much depth behind them at the position.
One guy who could interest the Bears in the fourth round is Fresno State's Tyeler Davison.ย
In four years for the Bulldogs, Davison registered 161 total tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks.
At the scouting combine in February, Davison bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times, fifth-most among all defensive linemen, according to NFL.com. He is strong, quick and explosive, but he is just 6'2" and gets lost in the shuffle at times.
He does not possess ideal size for the nose tackle position because he only weighs 316 pounds, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangioย used smaller guys like Ian Williams (6'1", 305 lbs) andย Quinton Dial (6'5", 318 lbs) at nose tackle last season in San Francisco.
If Fangio thinks Davison can succeed in his system at a smaller weight like Williams and Dial did last year for the 49ers, he could immediately become a part of the rotation at nose tackle next season behind Ratliff and Ferguson.ย
5th Round (via the New York Jets): Craig Mager, Cornerback, Texas State
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The Bears acquired a fifth-round pick in this year's draft in the Marshall trade to the Jets, and even though the team signed veteran cornerback Alan Ball to a one-year deal late last week, according toย Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com, the Bears will likely still be in the market for a young cornerback in this year's draft.
Kyle Fuller, Tim Jennings and Ball will likely be the team's top three cornerbacks this season, but Texas State's Craig Mager has the potential to make an impact if the Bears decide to pull the trigger on him in the fifth round.
Mager ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the combine in February, according to NFL.com, but he relies more on his instincts on the field than his speed.ย
He is physical and unafraid to come up and play against the run, but he does struggle in coverage at times and is a little stiff in his hips.
He could find a role in Chicago's defense as a hybrid cornerback/safetyย because of his physicality.
"I wanted to make him a safety because of how physical he is, but after seeing him in person, he may not be big enough," an NFC director of player personnel said, according toย Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. "He's not as fast as you want, but he's a player and he's really, really tough."
Fangio likes defensive backs with the flexibility to play against both the pass and the run, and Mager could possibly develop into the role that Jimmie Ward played in San Francisco last season as a hybrid cornerback/safety.
Mager likely would not start the season as a key member of the team's sub-packages on defense, but at the very least, he has the ability to be a contributor on special teams and could eventually earn a role on defense later in the season.
6th Round: Andy Gallik, Center, Boston College
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The Bears re-signed veteran center Roberto Garza to a one-year extension late last year, but the team desperately needs to get younger at the position.
Chicago could always re-sign veteran Brian de la Puenteโwho was with the team last season and has ties to Pace from their time together in New Orleansโor the Bears could look to the draft for Garza's replacement.
The center position is often overlooked in the early rounds of the draft, and Boston College's Andy Gallik could be a steal for the Bears if he falls to the sixth round.
Gallik uses his hands well and is strong at the point of attack, but he is not very athletic and struggles to get to the second level when asked to be a lead blocker out in front of a play.
Despite Gallik's flaws, Boston College head coach Steve Addazio likes Gallik's chances at the next level.
"Andy's going to have a great future playing," Addazio said, according to Adam Kurkjian of the Boston Herald. "Everybody likes him. His film doesn't lie. He has really good film and he's done well in the different workouts that he's had and the line coaches that have worked him out like him a lot."
Gallik grew up in Evergreen Park, Illinois, and looked up to Garza and former Bears center Olin Kreutz when he was younger.
"I've watched [Roberto] Garza and [Olin] Kreutz ever since I was little," Gallik said at the combine, according toย Hub Arkush, Kevin Fishbain and Arthur Arkush of ChicagoFootball.com. "I watch a lot of the centers in the league and try to pick up on techniques, hand placement, footworkโa lot of stuff from different guys."
He is still a bit raw, but he has plenty of upside and could be an instant upgrade over Garza at center in 2015.ย
Statistical information courtesy ofย Sports-Reference.comย unless otherwise noted. Measurablesย courtesy ofย NFL.com.
Mattย Eurichย is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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