2013 BRB Mock Draft: With The Twentieth Overall Pick, The Chicago Bears Select...

I'll start by apologizing, on behalf of the staff, for the delay in our momentous Battle Red Blog mock draft (waits for boos to subside).

Our Chicago Bears mock general manager, RedWhitePaws, has apparently gone the way of the DoDo bird -- (waits for louder boos to subside) -- so the BRB Staff is misappropriating management of the mock Monsters of the Midway and muscling alliteration down your maw.

Stepping away from the Ms and back into the 20th overall pick, we find the Chicago Bears, a team that has seen playoff opportunities float away due to the injuries suffered by quarterback Jay Cutler. An obvious, and smart pick, might be an offensive lineman to help keep Cutler clean. Alabama's D.J. Fluker, especially now that North Carolina's Jonathan Cooper is off the board, stands as the best available lineman. Fluker's a powerful anchor of a right tackle and the Bears could go that route. However, the Bears have signed offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, OT Jonathan Scott, slimy OG Matt Slauson, and blocking tight end Steve Maneri to help bolster their line. I can see them waiting until day two or three for more line depth.

The other obvious pick is someone to step in and fill the void left by legendary middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. However, the Bears added both D.J. Williams and James Anderson this offseason. Both are on one-year deals, while Lance Briggs is not getting any younger, so a guy like Alec Ogletree would make a ton of sense here. However, there hasn't been a run on linebackers yet and those veterans allow the Bears to hedge their bets for round two and look elsewhere.

I'm tempted to add in another cornerback to help combat the frequent division opponents in Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, but there is another pick that makes a lot of sense, especially given our board.

With the 20th overall pick in the 2013 BRB Mock Draft, the Chicago Bears select Tyler Eifert, tight end from the University of Notre Dame.

With new head coach Marc Trestman having an offensive background, you can look at his former team, the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, to find that his top receivers were slotbacks, a kind of running back/wide receiver hybrid. This thought would lead me to suspect that Tavon Austin would be their ideal weapon for Trestman, but he's already been selected. Still, this history shows Trestman likes having a slot/inside weapon which falls into line with what offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer has learned over his years in New Orleans with Jimmy Graham.

Recently, the Bears signed Martellus Bennett, but if they added another tight end option they could transform the offense into the spreading dual-tight end spread that has seen success in the NFL. At 6'6'', 250 pounds, Eifert stands as the clear-cut best tight end in the 2013 NFL Draft. He's just the kind of slot weapon Trestman could have fun utilizing, is a capable and improving blocker, and could make the Bears offense really dangerous in a two tight end, single-back set with Eifert, Bennett, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Matt Forte. Even if the Chicago offensive line isn't better, Eifert turns into a great hot-read option for Cutler, too.

The Bears can focus on defense for day two, especially with no defender being able to provide more impact here than Eifter. Adding the former Notre Damer could really take this offense to the next level and would better allow Trestman and Kromer to run the style of offense they're comfortable with.

McKnight299 and the Cincinnati Bengals are now on the clock. Their pick is due to Tim by noon CDT.

Recapping...

1. Kansas City Chiefs--Luke Joeckel (OT--Texas A&M)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars--Eric Fisher (OT--Central Michigan)
3. Oakland Raiders--Sharrif Floyd (DT--Florida)
4. Philadelphia Eagles--Dee Milliner (CB--Alabama)
5. Detroit Lions--Jarvis Jones (LB--Georgia)
6. Cleveland Browns--Keenan Allen (WR--Cal)
7. Arizona Cardinals--Chance Warmack (OG--Alabama)
8. Buffalo Bills--Geno Smith (QB--West Virginia)
9. New York Jets--Dion Jordan (DE/OLB--Oregon)
10. Tennessee Titans--Ezekial Ansah (DE--BYU)
11. San Diego Chargers--Lane Johnson (OT--Oklahoma)
12. Miami Dolphins--Barkevious Mingo (DE/OLB--LSU)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Tavon Austin (WR--West Virginia)
14. Carolina Panthers--Star Lotulelei (DT--Utah)
15. New Orleans Saints--Sheldon Richardson (DT--Missouri)
16. St. Louis Rams--DeAndre Hopkins (WR--Clemson)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers--Cordarrelle Patterson (WR--Tennessee)
18. Dallas Cowboys--Jonathan Cooper (G--North Carolina)
19. New York Giants--Bjoern Wagner (DE--Florida State)
20. Chicago Bears--Tyler Eifert (TE--Notre Dame)

21. Cincinnati Bengals--McKnight299
22. St. Louis Rams--gm.in.waiting
23. Minnesota Vikings--The Night Owl
24. Indianapolis Colts--ckone
25. Minnesota Vikings--The Night Owl
26. Green Bay Packers--krkenney
27. Houston Texans--BRB Staff
28. Denver Broncos--Capt Ron
29. New England Patriots--MaloneyPony
30. Atlanta Falcons--riversmccown
31. San Francisco 49ers--TexansDC
32. Baltimore Ravens--Cougfan