Every year, the NFL Draft is filled with surprises. The player who is widely believed to be in the top 10 will be knocked out until the end of the first round. Or the player that everyone had associated with picking the second day would step off the board somewhere in their teens. It’s hard to predict the unexpected, because, well, it wouldn’t be unexpected if you could. But that is exactly what PFF has tried to do in a dummy draft They posted on Tuesday.
In their mock-up, the PFF selected the Bears for Darnell Wright with the No. 9 pick in the draft, an offensive tackle whose name didn’t come up often in discussions about who the Bears could take at that position.
“Tevin Jenkins has thrived so much at guard that sending him out again for tackle would hurt him,” Michael Renner wrote in his mock draft. “Wright comes in as the most experienced right tackle in the draft and gives Chicago a fearsome offensive line in the running game.”
Fair review of Wright. But the real surprise is that PFF knocked Wright off the plate ahead of Paris Johnson, Peter Skowronski and Broderick Jones, who are widely considered to be the top three offensive prospects in this year’s class.
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PFF The Bears are starting to run short on tackles, with Skowronski going to the Eagles in the 10th, Johnson following right behind to the Titans in the 11th and Jones upping the butt to the Steelers in the 12th. This trend is also pushing other players further down the board, like CB Devon Witherspoon at No. 17 and QB Will Davis all the way to No. 22.
After the offensive line is tackled, PFF taunts three defensive linemen to the Bears with their next three picks. Given the overhaul needed along the defensive line, it’s not inconceivable that something like this is when the choices start to look real. In this scenario, PFF has Ryan Poles using pick #53 to select edge rusher BJ Ojulari. With No. 61, he stuck to the edges with Derek Hall. Finally, PFF Poles has an inside linebacker selection in No. 64 Gervon Dexter Sr.
The NFL Draft kicks off for real on April 27th.
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