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With the eleventh (11th) pick of the 2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft, C.Nelson42 selects...
Bear Mock Draft Rationale
With the host city officially on the clock, I’d like to start with a recap of the present state of the Bears’ organization.
GM Ryan Pace and HC John Fox are in their second year on the job in Chicago, and we have seen the team overhauled in a big way in a short amount of time. Last year (Pace’s first at the GM level) the Bears acquired Phrenell McPhee as their ‘big ticket’ acquisition to build their new base 3-4 system around, then remained active in the second wave of free agency signing players to aid the swap without committing big dollars to any given player. Now in their first full offseason at the helm the tandem has again been active, signing several players, including ILBs Danny Trevathan and Jerrel Freeman, OT Bobbie Masse, C/Gs Manny Ramirez and Ted Larson, and DE Akiem Hicks, to go along with the 13 free agents they retained from their 2015 roster, including Tracy Porter and several key special teams players.
With most of the glaring holes filled, the Bears have the ability to follow Pace’s preferred draft style; BPA. As I see it, the biggest needs for this roster are a 5T DE, S, CB, EDGE, and LT. I’ll be honest, I was tempted to try and trade up (when I saw Dallas was in the market to move back) and snag Buckner, but I channeled my inner Pace and held firm, letting the draft come to me (and after seeing what the Rams gave up for the 4th pick I’m glad I played it cool as it was a bit too steep for me). My next pick would have been Hargreaves, but he was swiped up by the Eagles. Stanly would have been another good option to strengthen the OL and provide competition at LT for Charles Leno, but that also was not meant to be.
So, with the 11th pick of the 1st round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select: A’Shawn Robinson, DT/DE, Alabama. I thought long and hard about several other players, including Lawson, Floyd, and Alexander, but when it came down to it I just didn’t like the scheme fit/value for those players enough. It may be a slight reach for Robinson here, but from my view he can at the very least become a starter in the base 3-4 to strengthen the run D (which he was known for at ‘Bama) and help keep the LBs clean, plus push the pocket from time to time on a rotational basis. He also has enough physical ability and potential that I feel Vic Fangio and crew can help him develop some pass rush moves, thus adding more upside to the pick down the road and making him someone the defense can be built around, along will McPhee, Eddie Goldman, and Adrian Amos.
Free2Shred00, consider yourself on the clock with your pick due to me by 2pm CDT on Sunday.
1. Tennessee Titans--Laremy Tunsil (OT--Ole Miss)
2. Cleveland Browns--Joey Bosa (DE--Ohio State)
3. San Diego Chargers--Jalen Ramsey (CB/S--FSU)
4. Los Angeles Rams--Carson Wentz (QB--NDSU)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars--Myles Jack (LB--UCLA)
6. Baltimore Ravens--DeForest Buckner (DL--Oregon)
7. San Francisco 49ers--Jared Goff (QB--California)
8. Philadelphia Eagles--Vernon Hargreaves III (CB--Florida)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Ronnie Stanley (OT--Notre Dame)
10. New York Giants--Ezekiel Elliott (HB--Ohowihateohio State)
11. Chicago Bears--A'Shawn Robinson (DE/DT--Alabama)
12. New Orleans Saints--Lionlocker
13. Miami Dolphins--Free2shred00
14. Oakland Raiders--BostonianToro
15. Dallas Cowboys--Roll.Texans.Roll (VIA TRADE)
16. Detroit Lions--Huggy The Bear
17. Atlanta Falcons--athens_murder
18. Indianapolis Colts--FreedomRide
19. Buffalo Bills--Texstros9495
20. New York Jets--Houstonkingo
21. Washington Redskins--whiteiron
22. Houston Texans--BRB Staff
23. Minnesota Vikings--King_of_the_Gridiron
24. Cincinnati Bengals--Summer of Watt
25. Pittsburgh Steelers--GannonNash
26. Seattle Seahawks--thepencilneck
27. Green Bay Packers--FeedEmToTheWolves1099
28. Kansas City Chiefs--Senor Stan
29. Arizona Cardinals--HovaFlow
30. Carolina Panthers--Vance87
31. Denver Broncos--viper17d