Adam L. Jahns: Final thoughts on Bears and their No. 8 pick before the draft

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Notre Dame offensive lineman Quenton Nelson could be the Bears’ first-round pick this year. | Carlos Osorio/AP Photo

It’s draft day. Finally. Here are some final thoughts on the Bears, their No. 8 pick and this year’s NFL draft:

My pick

It’s Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith. He’s a safer pick than Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds but also a better one.

Smith is similar in stature, demeanor and as a player to Patrick Willis, an All-Pro tackling machine and tone-setter for Vic Fangio’s 49ers defenses.

Having Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski on the roster shouldn’t prevent the Bears from picking Smith, either. When they’re healthy, Trevathan and Kwiatkoski are good players. (Keyword: healthy.) Smith could be great.

My runners up

There are rumblings that the Bears want to upgrade their secondary with a true playmaker. It was a goal last season, too.

It’s why the Bears traded up in the fourth round to select safety Eddie Jackson. The Bears also had LSU safety Jamal Adams in mind early in the first round if quarterback Mitch Trubisky was off the board.

Two players stand out in this year’s draft: Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward and Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. It’s interesting that they visited Halas Hall and that Florida State safety Derwin James did not.

My message

General manager Ryan Pace said the Bears liked eight players for the No. 8 pick, but within that list of eight, there is another smaller list.

And that’s the real list. It’s the players that the Bears truly covet.

Pace didn’t wait for a player to fall to him last year or in 2016. He moved up and drafted Trubisky and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. It’s why trading up always seems to be an option for the Bears under Pace.

My sleepers

Don’t be surprised if Pace surprises you and everyone with his pick. It’s what he does.

Keep these players in mind: Boston College pass rusher Harold Landry, Texas-San Antonio pass rusher Marcus Davenport, Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson and Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey.

The eighth overall pick might be too early for all of them, but they could all be included in the Bears’ second tier of players.

Right on Q?

If Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson were such a can’t-miss prospect – the top-rated player of the entire draft, according to some analysts and pundits – than why would he “fall” to the Bears at No. 8?

This isn’t meant to disparage Nelson. The consensus is that he will be an All-Pro player. But teams value guards differently. And teams also have been able to find good ones at all points in the draft.

The Saints are an example – an important one, too, because that’s where Pace is from. Jahri Evans (fourth round, 2006) and Carl Nicks (fifth round, 2008) started for Saints’ Super Bowl-winning team in 2009.

Nicks, a Nebraska product, went to two Pro Bowls and was named first-team All Pro in 2011. Evans, who played at Division-II Bloomsburg (Pennsylvania), was a four-time first-team All Pro selection and went to six Pro Bowls.

In Pace’s 14 years with the Saints, which includes various roles, the team selected just one offensive lineman in the first round: left tackle Jammal Brown out of Oklahoma with the 13th pick in 2005.

More on guards

The Jaguars made Andrew Norwell the highest paid guard in the NFL this year, signing him to a five-year, $66.5 million contract. He was an All Pro last season for the Panthers. He also was an undrafted free-agent signing out of Ohio State in 2014.

* In 2013, guards Jonathan Cooper (North Carolina) and Chance Warmack (Alabama) were heralded prospects who turned out to be more miss than can’t-miss.

The Cardinals drafted Cooper with the seventh overall pick, and now he’s a member of the 49ers after stints with the Patriots, Browns and Cowboys.

The Titans selected Warmack with the No. 10 pick, but didn’t pick up his fifth-year option for 2017. He’s now with the Eagles.

So finally …

That all said, watch the Bears take Nelson. They like him. Why wouldn’t they? He’s a mauler who would look great in the middle of their offensive line. He does have special qualities.

But where do the Bears value and rate Nelson based on him being guard? We should find out if does “fall” to them at No. 8.

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