Patrick Finley: Answering the Bears’ biggest draft questions

SHARE Patrick Finley: Answering the Bears’ biggest draft questions
dknd.jpg

Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer could be an option for the Bears. (AP)

The Bears are wrapping up their preparations for the draft.

Meanwhile, Sun-Times Bears expert Patrick Finley is answering the most important questions the team will face Thursday in the first round, and beyond.

Here’s a look at whom the Bears need, want and should pick — and when they’ll draft a quarterback:

(To read colleague Adam L. Jahns’ answers, click here. For Mark Potash, click here.)

The Bears’ biggest areas of need entering the draft:

Quarterback, quarterback and quarterback. Until (unless?) Mike Glennon proves himself, there’s no reason to think the Bears have the most important position in sports locked up. Even if Glennon is decent — and GM Ryan Pace thinks he will be — can you imagine what will happen if Glennon gets hurt in Game 2 the way Jay Cutler did? Fourteen weeks of Mark Sanchez could get everyone fired.

The Bears solved this need in free agency:

Blocking tight end. Not a sexy answer, but Dion Sims gives the Bears an in-line force they sorely missed last year after trading Martellus Bennett. Besides Sims, the four other players they signed to multiyear deals play quarterback, safety, cornerback and wide receiver — positions that remain precisely their four biggest draft needs.

Would you draft a quarterback at No. 3?

No. Let someone else gamble on which passer is worth a top-five pick. The Bears would be wiser to take a quarterback with their second-round pick — or use that second pick to move up to the end of Round 1. Maybe Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer falls that far — the Bears have stayed in constant contact with him. Pitt’s Nathan Peterman, whom the Bears liked at the Senior Bowl, could be a good match. Here’s betting that teams with established quarterbacks looking for protégés — the Chargers, Cardinals and Saints — wait until the second round or later, too.

Solomon Thomas or Jonathan Allen?

Allen. He might be the most polished, NFL-ready player in the draft. The Bears can plug him in at their oh-so-vacant starting defensive end spot and let him dominate for five years. That might hurt him, though. Pace has bet on super-athletic players with upside — wide receiver Kevin White and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd — with his first-round picks.

Malik Hooker or Jamal Adams?

Hooker. Presuming his medicals don’t spook the Bears, Hooker provides an innate ball-hawking talent that can’t be taught — and that the Bears, with only 11 takeaways last year, desperately need. His health might make him too risky at No. 3, though.

Predict the Browns, 49ers picks:

Myles Garrett and Solomon Thomas. Not even the Browns can screw this up.

In an ideal world, the Bears will …

Pick the best defender third overall and land a developmental quarterback in the second round, without having to trade additional picks in a draft that’s deep in the positions they need. The defender helps Fox win now and the quarterback gives Pace a hedge against his big bet on Glennon. Trading down is a great idea, but good luck finding a partner.

RELATED STORIES

Mark Potash: Answering the Bears’ biggest draft questions

Adam L. Jahns: Answering the Bears’ biggest draft questions


The Latest
Maybe Fields will develop with the Steelers, become a franchise star. It’s more likely he’ll be an updated Mitch Trubisky.
Crosetti Brand, 37, changed his story when he testified before parole officials, who ultimately decided to release him on March 12, a day before the attack at his ex-girlfriend’s North Side apartment.
In all, 129,000 children, 68% of those 5 or younger, had lead in their home drinking water, a study found.
It’s one to flush for right-hander acquired from Padres in Dylan Cease trade
Un cuestionario para candidatos para ayudarle a considerar sus opciones en las elecciones primarias de Illinois del 19 de marzo de 2024.