The popular picks and the essential ones seemed to find their way into the hands of other teams in this final mock draft of March, the first attempt at one since just after the combine.
The Bears' needs at this point are obvious and with Ashton Jeanty going very early in this mock draft to the Cleveland Browns at No. 3 overall, and LSU tackle Will Campbell fourth to New England, some of the more favorable situations had vanished.
While free agency resulted in new starting offensive line and defensive line help for the Bears, the victim of free agency was the depth the Bears had built up last year.
This mock draft resupplies their depth.
The good thing about this year's crop of players for the Bears is there seems to be help on the line of scrimmage for all who need it, and even with a top player like Campbell or defensive lineman Mason Graham gone in Round 1 at No. 10, there are other potential contributors available at almost every turn.
So the Bears are on the clock in this final March mock and first since the week after the combine.
T Armand Membou, Missouri
No. 10, Round 1
The strong urge was for Penn State tight end Tyler Warren but the Saints spared me this decision and it really is a pleasant surprise to see a mauling tackle like Membou available. Sure, he was on the right side in college, but he's talented enough to play guard or left side if needed. The Bears are not in a position where he must play immediately.
At 6-foot-4, 332, he ran a phenomenal 4.91-second 40. With 33 1/2-inch arms, he probably is ideal for guard eventually but can be a tackle. His 40 was second-fastest for all offensive linemen and easily fastest for tackles.
DE J.T. Tuimoloau, Ohio State
No. 41, Round 2
The 39th pick came up and the stockpile lacked an edge rated high enough but it did offer a chance to trade back eight spots with the Cardinals and acquire extra picks in Rounds 4 (115) and 5 (152). Remember, the Bears again face a big gap in their drafting this year as they have in several recent years. They have no fourth-rounder, but they did after moving back. I still was able to draft Ohio State edge rusher JT Tuimoloau. At 6-foot-4, 277, he is ideal size for the Dennis Allen defensive scheme, and last year showed he is more than just a stout presence as he produced 12 1/2 of his 23 1/2 career sacks. He uses his reach and athleticism well with 10 career passes knocked down and made 144 total tackles, including an outstanding 45 for loss. This is an edge who could start if something happened to Dayo Odeyingbo or Montez Sweat, and be comfortable stopping the run or rushing the passer.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
No. 47, Round 2
They need a back who makes tacklers miss or breaks tackles as one to pair with D'Andre Swift, who rates more of a speed threat. Judkins runs with great lean, finds the hole quickly and gets downhill. He's not dancing or a speed burner but is an effective pro style runner who posted 1,567 yards rushing on 274 carries to lead the Southeast Conference in 2022, went over 1,000 yards every year and had 3,2785 yards on 739 total carries.
He hasn't been a receiving threat, necessarily because he was teamed at Ohio State with speed threat TreVeyon Henderson, but can catch if needed.
He had 59 career receptions for 442 yards. With 45 career rushing TDs and five TD catches, he has a nose for the goal line.
S Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
No. 72, Round 3
Another safety from the same school to team with Jaquan Brisker. They have no safeties under contract for 2026 and Kevin Byard's age will become an issue after this year. Winston had an interception and five pass breakups but is last season was cut to only three games because of a torn ACL. There shouldn't be an issue with his return since it came so early in the season. His ideal responsibility would be covering closer to the line and the Bears can use this because it would keep them from using Brisker in an area where he could have a concussion. At 6-2, 210 he should be ready. He ran a 4.5-second 40 at the Penn State pro day last week, six months after his injury. He'll only get faster.
DT Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech
No. 115, Round 4
Chosen with a pick acquired in the trade with Arizona, the 6-2, 290-pound three-technique tackle is a very disruptive gap shooter against both the run and the pass. He started out at Duke, and finished last year at Va Tech, making 11 1/2 total sacks and 2 tackles for loss. He had 16 tackles for loss his last two seasons. He commanded an extremely high pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus, top 8.8% for his position, last season, and had 55 hurries forced in the last two seasons. A good fit for the defensive line pass rush rotation to keep Grady Jarrett fresh.
TE Benjamin Yurosek, Georgia
No. 148, Round 5
This came down to two tight ends, either Yurosek or Notre Dame's Mitchell Evans. While I tended to favor Evans, he did have a bad knee injury in 2023 and is 260 pounds, more of a Y-type tight end like Cole Kmet. Yurosek is a U-type or move tight end at 245 and would be a better contributor in the Ben Johnson offense with the Y already taken. Also, PFF grades him as a very solid blocker for a U-type so he's not necessarily type-cast as a U-type and could fill in at the Y if necessary. Yurosek was a Stanford tight end and then was limited by injury in his final season to six games, but this past season had 15 catches for 185 yards in a lesser role with Georgia. He had 92 catches for 1,1103 yards in his first two healthy seasons for Stanford.
DE Tyler Baron, Miami
No. 152, Round 5
With the other pick obtained by trade, another edge rusher was available. Hopefully it will work out better than the picks of Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson and Austin Booker as fifth-round edge rushers. Baron's career was mostly with Tennessee. He had 13 1/2 sacks in his first four seasons with the Vols, then had 5 1/2 last year for the Hurricanes. His 4.62 time in the 40 and 1.61-second 10-yard split showed he has the size and he had a 10-foot-1 broad jump, as well. A 6-5, 258-pound edge, he'd need to add just a few pounds to meet Dennis Allen's strict standards for ends.
QB Graham Mertz, Florida
No. 233, Round 7
The party is over for Tyson Bagent as a backup as he'll be challenged by a bonafide Division 1 QB for the backup job. Mertz, a former Wisconsin QB, suffered a torn ACL last year in October with the Gators but it shouldn't hurt him too much considering he's not your mobile QB who needs to do it with his legs. Mertz connected on an SEC best 72.9% completions in 2023 as Gators starter. For his career, he completed 793 of 1,225 for 9,099 yards and 64 TDs with 31 interceptions. A good acquisition for so late in the draft.
WR Will Sheppard, Colorado
No. 240, Round 7
An X-type receiver at 6-3, 200, who had been at Vanderbilt his first four years and faced SEC competition. Last year at Colorado he had 48 catches for 621 yards and six TDS. For his career, he has 200 catches for 2,688 yards and 27 touchdowns.
He was snubbed by the combine but had a strong East-West Shrine Game. He might have had even better numbers last year except his was overshadowed for targets by first-round talents Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.
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