Shifting Up in Simulation Nets Coveted Participant
The opportunity for a special player or even a special athlete turned out to be too attractive in BearDigest.com Mock Draft 5.0, the penultimate mock draft and April 1st.
It’s been two weeks of pro days since the last mock and the latest mock draft included trades and a player that is sure to delight many Bears fans. It has met everyone’s needs as well, although in some cases with some risks and also some players who really have question marks.
What is a trade without a question mark?
In keeping with the idea that GM Ryan Pace can’t draw players who count a lot in rounds 6 and 7 – he has a total of seven starts from players drafted in those rounds in six years – the picks the bears are made of Gathered in Round 6 this year were used as trading bait to easily level up and pick better players.
It’s quality over quantity when you’re already in position and the bears have been in the playoffs for two of the past three years. They’re not Detroit or some other team starting from scratch trying to fill roster posts with young bodies.
Trade I.
Before drafting, hoping to land Justin Fields, I offered the Atlanta Falcons a deal and they accepted. A team starting with a new staff
and if there is a quarterback, he may like more picks, when in reality it will cost the Bears far more than my offer to Atlanta to position for a quarterback. I sent the 20th pick in Round 1, the first and second rounds for next year, and a sixth round pick for next year to Atlanta to move up so I can be in position for Fields. If you remember, the 49ers handed out three # 1s and one third place finish to go from # 12 to # 3. So my trade from 20 to 4 looks like a complete bargain.
PFF only gave the deal a C.
Tough. I liked it.
Trade II
The goal was to get rid of some of the late rubbish that leads Pace to throw leaflets about people like Stephen Denmark or Kerrith Whyte and get to a place where a more productive player could be picked. A three-for-one offer of 204, 208 and 228 for the 159th player was accepted by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Bear’s old buddy Brandon Staley, who needs numbers to rebuild. So the Bears have an extra early fifth round and lose six round players who wouldn’t matter much anyway.
Round 1, Selection # 4: Trey Lance, QB, N. Dakota St.
The New York Jets all crossed twice in the draft simulator. Instead of taking Zach Wilson, they chose Fields, the player I was promoted to.
The drafting simulator came from Pro Football Focus and doesn’t appear to be buying the 49ers-Mac Jones rumor. They then had the 49ers take Wilson.
These steps thwarted my trading, but not entirely.
Trey Lance isn’t the quarterback Wilson is, or the combination of athlete and proven passerby Fields, but he’s a very special athlete. He’s not a special quarterback yet, having had so little experience with top talent and almost no gaming experience due to the pandemic last year.
