The Chicago Bears 2020 draft, I have mixed feelings about. I can say good, bad, and ugly to describe my thoughts on their picking this year. I know coming in the Bears did not have a number one draft pick. The Bears used that pick as a part of that Khalil Mack trade with the Raiders. The recent Bears history with a number one pick is just frightening. Bears used picks this year and went after players to help fill some of the holes on their roster. Which is a good philosophy, not drafting a project like a Shea McClellin and hoping they fit in somewhere. Like a bad jigsaw puzzle forcing a piece in a spot that does not fit.The Bears did not go after a quarterback in the draft which this team has had ongoing problems about for decades. They trade away draft picks like they’re candy. Did I miss the headlines that the Bears were in the playoffs last season?

The Bears first pick was in the second round of the draft and landed yet another tight end. Cole Kmet, a local kid from Notre Dame, some say was the best tight end on the board. Kmet is a big target with great hands that can run over people. Matt Nagy needs a tight end in his offense that has too many moving parts. The Bears have a shit load of tight ends on the roster even with releasing Trey Burton, who was not worth the money they paid him. The Bears stayed the course with this pick and have gotten someone that can help this team this up coming season. I like this pick a lot. I think Kmet can turn into a weapon of mass destruction on opposing teams.

Still in the second round, the Bears go defense with their second pick. At number 50 the Bears get a corner back from the University of Utah, Jaylon Johnson. The Bears released veteran corner back Prince Amukamara so this was a position in need. Johnson was second All-American who tallied six interceptions and 21 pass break ups which tells you he can get the job done. All of this done with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Obviously you have to like this kid who can play through big time pain and be very productive. However this move raises a red flag with me. When the Bears drafted Kevin White, he had injury baggage that he brought to Chicago. White turned into a first round bust. Jaylon Johnson may be the exception. However we have been down this road and Ryan Pace’s higher picks turn into stone.

After the second round, the Bears next picks came in the fifth round. With the lack of picks coming in, the Bears baffle me by wheeling and dealing yet again future draft picks. Again, did the Bears make the playoffs and I missed it? The Bears trade away a 2021 4th round pick to the Minnesota Vikings to move up eight spots in the fifth round to land a defensive end from Tulsa in Trevis Gipson. Now next year’s draft will be depleted with picks you have traded away. Plus you are helping a division rival, Minnesota Vikings, who did make the playoffs last season and had an arsenal of draft picks in this year’s draft, like some guy hoarding toilet paper in the pandemic crisis. Trevis Gipson is a guy that can get to the quarterback as he had 8 sacks last season for Tulsa. Gipson is a a 6’3 261 pound guy who can line up on the edge or be that outside linebacker. Gipson can learn from the best in Khalil Mack. Plus with the addition of Robert Quinn from Dallas in free agency, you can use him in a package of plays with fresh legs coming off the bench to kill the quarterback on the opposing team. Why did Gipson fall to the 5th round and is he worth trading away a future draft pick? Did Ryan Pace gamble against himself like moving up the one spot to get Mitchell Trubisky back in 2017? Maybe Gipson would have been there for the Bears’ taking, standing still without mortgaging the future. Good grief Charlie Brown has struck again.

Still in round five, the Bears took another corner back out of Georgia Southern in Kindle Vildor. Vildor is most likely destined for special teams. Some say Vildor could be a feisty in your face type of corner, a good defender in the nickel role. Then the Bears took a flier on a speed guy at wide receiver. Darnell Mooney from Tulane University will be a fifth round project that cost the Bears once again this time with the Eagles. Mooney has blazing speed as he can run the 40 yard dash in 4.38 turbo. Bears released Taylor Gabriel and Mooney is the same type of guy at 5’10 and 176 pounds. Ryan Pace has done well late in rounds with guys like Mooney and Vildor.

The Bears did not address a glaring weakness on their roster until the final round of the draft. It took the Bears until the 7th round to land two projects at offensive line. Arlington Hambright, a big specimen at 6’5″ from Colorado, a former Buffalo. Maybe he is a Bison. Then another big guy from Tennesee State, Lachavious Simmons. Simmons is another monster standing at 6’5 and can play multiple positions on the offensive line. Bears have found diamonds in the ruff before with the 7th round on offensive line, where Charles Leno came from in 2014.

It very hard to determine if the Bears got this year’s draft class right. It will take a few seasons to actually see how it plays out. I would have preferred a project and taking a flyer on a quarterback late in the rounds. Would have liked an offensive lineman higher up in the draft if possible. It was a draft loaded with wide receivers and we get the project speed guy. I think Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson will be the cream of the crop. I think Kmet will thrive on the field being local. Kmet will be a nice target used in the red zone is my gut feeling. I like Utah players. It seems the draft was loaded with guys from the Universities of Utah and Utah State. What else is there to do in that state besides concentrate on your game and master your craft? I like guys that battle through injuries and show up every week to play and still be productive like Jaylon Johnson was. The draft picks bother me. Ryan Pace has given away picks like he has a warehouse filled with them boxed up. Seems like Ryan Pace is out-dueling Ryan Pace for certain players. Stop listening to the voices in your head and quit trading away the cow for some beans.