If the sweet spot of this draft really is in the depth and strength of players who were available beginning Friday night on Day 2, it’s imperative the Chicago Bears hit with yet another skill-position player and two big men.
Maybe you were surprised a year ago when the Bears traded a fourth-round pick for one season of wide receiver Keenan Allen at $23.1 million before then using the ninth pick in the draft on Rome Odunze.
That iteration of the Bears offense never meshed. Allen remains a free agent, the Bears are hoping Odunze flourishes in Year 2 and a day after choosing Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th pick, the team scooped up Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III at No. 39, adding more more juice to the offense.
If that move didn’t catch you off guard, Burden called it “surprising.” If you’re among the hopeful with faith in new coach Ben Johnson, it would be wise to have an open mind about the expanded possibilities in an offense that should have Caleb Williams in position to take off.
“It was clear he was the most talented player on the board,” general manager Ryan Poles said late Friday at Halas Hall. “We think he’s an electric player, playmakers, highly competitive and the run after the catch is special, probably best in this class. When you add that to the group that we have, things get pretty exciting.”
Next, the Bears traded down from No. 41 — the ninth pick in the round — in a deal with the Buffalo Bills that netted them two late-second-round picks (Nos. 56 and 62), which turned into Boston College offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo and Texas A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner. It marked the first time in franchise history the Bears had three second-round picks.
Burden looked like a surefire first-round pick entering last fall before his numbers took a big dip as quarterback Brady Cook battled injuries and didn’t play as well and the Tigers offense slumped. But he was still viewed as a potential late first-rounder, and if the snub Thursday night can be lasting motivation, that ought to help the Bears.
“Of course,” Burden said when asked if he felt he should have received a phone call during Round 1.
He has electric ability in the open field at 6-foot, 206 pounds, and the Bears had a big grade on him, one they couldn’t ignore. How he’s used in the mix with DJ Moore and Odunze will be interesting. He wound up getting pigeonholed some at Missouri — a ton of the balls he caught were very near the line of scrimmage — and the Bears will want to be more diverse with him.
“The goal at the end of the day is get good football players in here,” said director of college scouting Breck Ackley when asked if there will be enough targets to spread around. “This is one of those things where when you add a guy with his skill set, you find a way. He competes. And what he does is he opens things up for everybody else.
“I think what you’ve seen in the league, really, the more weapons are on the field, it changes the way the defense plays you. That’s the mindset now of Coach Johnson — the creativity, what it allows everybody to do and the multiplicity it gives you.”
Ackley said Burden has the route-running ability and physicality to win on the outside and the twitchiness and separation ability combined with toughness to win on the inside. The coaches are going to have to see Burden in action and get a handle on the group as a whole, but it’s not inconceivable to see him getting a shot at having the role of Amon-Ra St. Brown. Burden will have to be more precise in his route running, but there’s no question he’s an explosive performer.
The Burden pick came just after the New England Patriots chose Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson at No. 38. The Bears went with another offensive skill player over a handful of edge rushers and other options. Two offensive linemen came off the board between the Burden selection and Trapilo at No. 56. The Houston Texans traded into the 48th pick to get Minnesota left tackle Aireontae Ersery, and the Green Bay Packers traded into the 54th pick for North Carolina State tackle Anthony Belton, who had a big week at the Senior Bowl.
How Trapilo fits into the puzzle cannot be determined until coaches have ample time with him on the field. He’s about the same size — 6-8, 316 pounds — as Marc Colombo, the Bears’ 2002 first-round pick from Boston College. Trapilo made 24 starts at right tackle and 12 at left tackle for the Golden Eagles.
“We talk about smart, tough and dependable, I think he embodies all those three things,” director of player personnel Trey Koziol said. “And for a big man who moves well, he’s a very smart football player. He’s very technically sound. And I think the dependability piece, especially in the offensive line room can’t be overrated.”
Koziol isn’t kidding. The Bears have had entirely too much turnover on the line over the last couple of seasons. Maybe Trapilo warrants a look on the left side at some point, but that might not be Plan A with Braxton Jones, when healthy, and Kiran Amegadjie in the mix.
Turner could turn into a real value addition. He had six sacks as a junior and was projected as a likely first-round pick. Playing through a stress fracture in his shin all last season affected his play and likely led to him slipping into Round 2, but this is an interesting player in the mix at a position where free-agent signing Grady Jarrett is a short-term fix and Andrew Billings is in a contract year.
In fewer than than 10 words, Koziol described a defensive coach’s dream assessing Turner.
“Violent. High energy. Aggressive,” Koziol said. “He’s powerful and he’s relentless.”
Sounds like something the Bears have been lacking.
How all of this will work as the organization tries to connect the vision of the new coaching staff with the front office and scouting network, no one knows and won’t for quite a while. As a general rule, it takes three years to judge a draft class. Hits and misses can be identified in much less time, but for an accurate and complete assessments it’s a matter of seasons, usually three.
It’s still a little premature to say how Poles’ Day 2 picks from 2023 — defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson — will be judged. When you’re waiting for a significant step forward entering Year 3, that tells you a little something. No one has been written off, but they also have yet to be identified as a clear building block for the future.
Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, Poles’ first pick in 2022, was just signed to an extension, and the Bears believe he remains an ascending player. Safety Jaquan Brisker, also a second-round pick that year, has had his short career by not only games missed but also injuries that have sidelined him during training camp and the offseason.
The COVID-19 draft of 2020 is the most recent example of the team nailing it with multiple picks on Day 2, a draft that brought cornerback Jaylon Johnson and tight end Cole Kmet in Round 2. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2003 for a draft to say definitively the team knocked it out of the park with more than one pick in Rounds 2 and 3. That year they chose cornerback Charles Tillman and linebacker Lance Briggs.
If the Bears are going to win this draft — if three years from now it’s going to be viewed as a home run — figure two of the three second-round picks need to be significant contributors with Loveland playing a major role.
Poles has been nimble in building the roster through all avenues, including free agency and trades and even angling for restricted free agents. For the Bears to build the kind of contender they’re aiming to field, one with sustained success, they have to first be more proficient in the draft.
Entering Friday, the Bears projected to have 11 starters drafted and developed by them if you count both tight ends, Loveland and Kmet, in that mix. In Philadelphia, the number for the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles is 18. The NFC North champion Detroit Lions were at 16 and the Green Bay Packers 17.
Day 2 and early in Day 3 is where the Bears need to fortify their numbers, and getting three second-round picks gives them a shot.
“I’ll go back to Ben’s deal about being comfortable being uncomfortable,” Poles said. “There’s some guys that are going to have to grind a little bit harder than probably they ever have before. I think it’s going to push everyone to be really good.”
