Draft analyst says Bears could get QB, defensive playmaker
What if the Bears could acquire their franchise quarterback of the future in this year's draft - and also get an instant-impact difference-maker on defense?
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper believes it's possible.
In his first mock of the ever-lengthening draft season, Kiper has the Bears taking Alabama's stud defensive lineman, Jonathan Allen, with the third overall pick. Kiper also believes the Bears could get Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer with their second-round pick (35th overall), even though some draft prognosticators predict Kizer may be the first quarterback taken.
"I think Kizer would be there in the second round," Kiper said on a teleconference. "I saw the struggles in terms of the decision-making, (and being) late getting rid of the football at times. He just didn't have the year that you would have thought, that you would have expected."
The Irish were considered to have a talented roster, but they finished a disappointing 4-8 last season. As the quarterback almost always does, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Kizer took the most criticism.
"That system doesn't fit him, I understand that," Kiper said. "But if you don't play at a high level at Notre Dame, how are you going to be expected to play at a high level in the NFL?
"But he's got physical and athletic talent. He's a big, strong-armed kid. He looks the part, but he didn't play like you expected, so I think second round for him."
Only Bears general Ryan Pace, coach John Fox and their staffs know at this point if the franchise is comfortable hitching its wagon to Kizer for the future.
The Bears could favor Clemson's Deshaun Watson. It's likely he'll be drafted in the first dozen picks, which means the Bears would have to grab him at No. 3, unless they can trade down several spots.
Kiper's first mock draft has North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky as the first quarterback taken, followed by Watson at No. 10 and then Kizer.
"Watson, to me, would be a stretch at (No. 3), and I don't think Trubisky will be there at 3," Kiper said. "I think either Cleveland (at No. 1) or San Francisco (No. 2) will take him. If he did (fall to No. 3), then the Bears would have to be in play for Trubisky. For Watson, that's just a little high. But could it happen by late April? Yes it could. But I don't think Kizer (will go) that early."
Handicapping where the top quarterbacks will be selected in any draft is tricky because they're overvalued due to the importance of the position.
Kiper has Watson going 10th overall to the Buffalo Bills, even though he ranks the Clemson QB as the 36th best player on his draft board.
"Quarterbacks get forced up," Kiper said. "Is there some risk/reward there? Yeah. But I do think he's going to go somewhere between the top 10 and top 15."
Each of the top three quarterbacks comes with major questions marks, which is why this draft class isn't considered especially strong at the position.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Trubisky did not start until the 2016 season and left with a year of eligibility remaining. Physically and mentally, he checks off almost all the boxes. But expecting a one-year starter to move seamlessly into a starting spot in the NFL as a rookie is unrealistic.
"It would shock me," Kiper said, "if he were able to play at a high level as a rookie in the NFL."
The biggest knock on the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Watson is his inconsistent accuracy.
"He can throw the football," Kiper said. "He threw better, I thought, from the pocket late in the year. He's a great kid and will work hard, which is a critical part of the whole equation. He certainly has the arm to make the throws you want.
"But is he accurate enough from the pocket? That's the big question, (especially) when you're talking about maybe a top 10 pick."
Or maybe even a top-three pick.
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