The Chicago Bears enter the off-season in 2021 in an awkward position. They ended the season on a hot streak and reached the playoffs, but they also feel like a team that needs a serious rebuild and is currently short of the third and fourth rounds. NFL Draft pick up. In this 7-round Bears 2021 NFL Mock Draft, Chicago finally finds a quarterback of the future to build, adding an elite piece to their secondary.
Bears Pre-Senior Bowl 7-Round 2021 NFL Mock Draft
- Round 1, pick 11: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU *
- Round 2, Pick 52: Hamsah Nasirildeen, S, FSU
- Round 5, Pick 147: Thayer Munford, OT, Ohio State
- Round 6, Pick 178: Tyler Vaughns, WR, USC
- Round 7, Pick 194: Kylen Granson, TE, SMU
* Trade
- Bears receive 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft from the New York Giants
- Giants get a 20th and 83rd overall pick in the NFL Draft in 2021 and Chicago’s first and third rounds in the NFL Draft in 2022.
Bears 2021 7-Round NFL Mock Draft Pick-to-Choose Analysis
Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
The top priority in this 7-round Bears 2021 NFL Mock Draft is to find a true franchise quarterback. The Windy City has been starving for that commodity for too long, and Zach Wilson can fill the void.
At quarterback, Chicago currently has Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles, but neither is an attractive option. Trubisky shows flashes along the piece, but it feels like foolish gold. He will also become an unlimited free agent this free season. Meanwhile, Nick Foles was a downgrade of the first round. Unfortunately, his shot put hit is big enough to keep him in all likelihood for 2021.
As a result, the Bears can no longer get the quarterback problem off the road, and they will not have the money to target a high veteran.
Enter Zach Wilson, the franchise fullback the Bears have been looking for since Sid Luckman retired.
Zach Wilson’s strengths & weaknesses
Wilson has a tremendous arm and sometimes shows ridiculous accuracy. He is also in the bag and knows how to manipulate the protection to keep a play alive. This will be a key feature for any Bears full-back as Chicago’s offensive line rebuilds.
The blend of arm talent and functional mobility is the teasing aspect of Zach Wilson. It makes him look like a first-class version of what Baker Mayfield was as a prospect.
However, there is a lot of reasonable concern about Wilson. Although he has a peak of supernatural accuracy, he can also hit cold pieces where he will force the passers-by to adjust the ball. Its mechanics are also not completely polished, and its base may be too wide.
However, these bumps are not enough to make the Bears make that choice. He fits everything they want into a franchise quarter. Landing him with the eleventh choice is a steal.
Trade to draft Zach Wilson
To draft Wilson in this 7-round Bears 2021 NFL Mock Draft, Chicago had to trade.
Some might trade against it, as the Bears are still recovering after trading several choices to the Las Vegas Raiders for Khalil Mack, but that’s different.
It’s a deal to land the kind of franchise that QB Chicago has not had for half a century. Not one of the best defensive players in the NFL.
When Wilson started falling into the draft council, the Bears tried to trade with the Eagles and Panthers before finally reaching an agreement with the Giants. In exchange for the overall eleventh selection, the Bears send out their first and third rounds from both this year and next year’s draft.
It’s quite expensive to move nine slots, but it allows Chicago to retain their second round for the next two seasons. It also allows them to start building fresh around a talented young quarterback.
Hamsah Nasirildeen, S, Florida State
The Bears secondary has a ton of pieces to build forward. They have an elite-free safety in Eddie Jackson, and two corner lines in the marquee tent in Kyle Fuller and newcomer Jaylon Johnson. However, the safety spot next to Jackson remains a hole.
Both of their top two strong security areas, Tashaun Gipson and Deon Bush, are at replacement level. They are also expiring contracts, and Chicago is unlikely to bring them back.
The selection of Hamsah Nasirildeen in this 7-round Bears 2021 NFL Mock Draft would be an upgrade there and give Chicago an extraordinarily promising future in the secondary direction.
Proposed | Bailey’s first round 2021 NFL Mock Draft
You can not stress enough how special Nasirildeen is from an athletic point of view. He pulled and had a great long speed to carry receivers or stiff points down the field. Nasirildeen also has a well-built frame that is long and yet sturdy.
In addition to athletics, Nasirildeen also showed great versatility in the Seminoles defense. He played well at the top, in the slot and at the bottom of the box, although he is at his best around football. His ability as a goal scorer flying into the field to blow up a running rugby is particularly impressive.
The red flags with Nasirildeen are quite small, which makes it surprising to see him project in the second round. He tore his ACL in 2019 but was healthy this season. He also relies heavily on his athletics to make plays in the cover, as well as when he was racing. He will therefore have to refine the more technical aspects of these roles at the next level.
Thayer Munford, OT, State of Ohio
Chicago’s next choice is only in the fifth round because of their trade with New York. However, they are still succeeding in tackling an exciting outlook for developments.
Thayer Munford of Ohio State already looks like an NFL suit at 6 feet-6, 325 pounds. He also has the desired arm length and solid movement skills, which, along with his giant size, will make him a headache for opponents.
Munford’s problem is that there are not many promising features outside of that fantastic set of tools. His feet are rough and he struggles to plant, which does not make sense with the aforementioned frame. He is also constantly late with his hands, digging him into a hole from which he does not yet have the skills.
Nevertheless, Munford makes sense for the Bears as a fifth tackle. You will rarely see an approach with this athletic profile fall into concept so far, and between Bobby Massie and Charles Leno, Chicago has entrees that enable them to develop Munford.
Tyler Vaughns, WR, USC
Chicago will surely lose Allen Robinson to the free agency, so they will have to try a way to replace him in this 7-round Bears 2021 NFL Mock Draft.
Ideally, they would rather target a wide receiver in the draft, but the board did not fall that way this time. With that said, Tyler Vaughns in the sixth round is not a bad consolation prize.
Vaughns does not have a game speed, but he shows high quality and toughness. He will attack the ball in the air and survive good contact to bring in the catch. Vaughns is also a smart player who has shown the ability to work outside as well as in the slot, and he knows where to put the defense.
The concern Chicago has with Vaughns is that he’s struggling to divorce, which is worrying. He can not only separate with speed or power with pure athletics. He is also not an elite runner. As a result, he has to fight tooth and nail for almost every catch. This is a strategy that will be much harder to succeed in the NFL than in the Pac-12.
Kylen Granson, TE, SMU
The Bears have just spent their best choice in the 2020 NFL draft on tight end Cole Kmet, but Kylen Granson is too good to pass up here.
Granson is an athletic “moving” point who could replace and possibly upgrade Jimmy Graham. He will not offer much as a blocker, but he is a nightmare that can act quickly.
Granson, however, plays more like a thick wide receiver than a tight end, which makes him pretty one-dimensional. He also does not have the size advantage you would like to see at the end of this style.
If Chicago chose Granson, Kmet could enable them to be their everyday tight end, which is a focal point of the offense, while Granson is used as a field goal.
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