Before I start, I just wanted to quickly give my condolences to the family/friends of former Bears DT Steve McMichael, who passed away today at the age of 67. "Mongo" was the heart and soul of the vaunted ‘85 Bears defense that wreaked havoc on the NFL and was one of the most colorful characters in the history of the league. He thankfully still had his mental faculties when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year. Mongo was truly one of a kind. May he rest in peace.

In the interest of time, we’re going to do this Bears draft preview from the perspective of the four players I picked for my "Bear in Mind" series on my new YouTube podcast, The Touchdown Bears Podcast with Richard Fung. The link to my channel is below, please check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/@TouchdownBears

DT Mason Graham from Michigan is a disruptive 3-technique with a quick first step and a relentless motor who uses leverage very well and is great against the run. He’s just a real slippery guy. As far as weaknesses go, his arms are a bit shorter than you’d like, and he isn’t the best against double teams. He would be a great fit for the Bears. The team signed 3-technique DT Grady Jarrett in free agency last month, but he is on the wrong side of 30. Some criticized the signing because of his age and the money, but I liked it because Jarrett has playoff experience and he’ll be a great leader for a locker room that was noticeably low on leadership last season.

In terms of how the Bears can get Graham, they can sit and wait and hope that he falls to ten, or they can trade up. Most mock drafts have him going in the top five, usually to Jacksonville at #5, but there have been rumors the past few days that the Jaguars may take Ashton Jeanty instead. In my mock draft, I have Graham falling to ten, with the Bears running the card in to take him. If he falls past the Jaguars to seven, the Bears could potentially trade up to seven by giving up their third-round pick.

LT Will Campbell from LSU is considered by most to be the top left tackle in this class. He’s got most everything you want in a left tackle (agility, athleticism, durability, a mean streak, etc.). But he has short arms and a short wingspan, which probably explains his struggles against inside moves. If the Bears took him, he would at least compete with incumbent LT Braxton Jones for the starting job. Jones is going into the final year of his contract and is coming off surgery for a fractured ankle that is likely to make him limited in training camp.

Campbell has mostly been mocked at #4 overall to the Patriots, and it seems unlikely that he’d fall to #10. Even if he did, I have my reservations about him because of his arm length/wingspan. LT Kelvin Banks Jr from Texas is the other top left tackle, but scouting reports say that he ends up on the ground too much, and his arms aren’t the longest either. Considering how Banks’ stock has risen in the past week, it would not surprise me if the Bears took Banks at #10 or after a trade down if their top targets are gone.

Penn State TE Tyler Warren is a huge target at 6-6 256 and a very versatile chess piece. He moves well for a big man, with quick feet and great hands. Warren is excellent on contested catches and is very difficult to tackle. Probably the most fun thing about him though is his versatility. He was a quarterback in high school, so he can throw the ball, and you can run quarterback power with him, too. You can split him out wide or in the slot as well. We all know Ben Johnson loves his trick plays, so I’m sure that Johnson would love to get Warren and think of all kinds of evil ways to use him. If there’s any downside to Warren, it’s that he wasn’t much of a downfield target in college. As Dane Brugler pointed out in "The Beast" Draft Guide, only about six percent of Warren’s targets came 20 yards or more downfield. Was that an indicator that he may not be a downfield target in the NFL, or was that more of an indictment of the subpar quarterback play he had? With a better quarterback in QB Caleb Williams, maybe Warren can be more of a downfield threat.

Warren has been mocked quite a bit to the Bears, but in recent days there’s been talk that the Jets may take him at #7 overall. If Warren is gone, Michigan TE Colston Loveland could be another target. Some analysts have him ranked ahead of Warren because he’s more of a downfield threat and can get open very quickly as basically an overgrown receiver. You can argue that he actually complements TE Cole Kmet better than Warren because Kmet is more of a short/intermediate target. I thought about mocking Loveland to the Bears at ten, and I would not be surprised if he was the pick if players like Graham and RB Ashton Jeanty are gone.

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty is one of the few true blue chippers in this draft. He is a tackle-breaking machine with the speed to score from anywhere on the field. The Bears have a need here with RB D’Andre Swift not being very effective between the tackles and RB Roschon Johnson mainly being used as a short-yardage/goal line back. Would the Bears consider trading up to #5 or #7 to get Jeanty? I personally wouldn’t, given how deep this tailback class is, but I wouldn’t be mad at it. If not Jeanty, I like the Ohio State backs, RB TreVeyon Henderson and RB Quinshon Judkins. Judkins in theory is the better fit and could provide the thunder to Swift’s lightning, but Henderson is just so electric with the ball in his hands. He gets in the open field, you’re not catching him. Henderson may not last until #39 overall where the Bears are.

For the Bears’ second-round picks, I have them taking Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr at #39 and Judkins at #41.

End.