2023 Chicago Bears Mock Draft: Trade back again edition

As theme mocks go, this one was fairly loose because my only rule was to trade the Chicago Bears' ninth-overall pick to the highest offer. After that, I was free to pick who I liked best, but I still played it petty close to the board. And speaking of my board, I once again used the Fanspeak NFL Draft simulator that now features the big board from our Lead Draft Analyst, Jacob Infante.

Now as for the trade back, I had a few offers, but I went with the deal from the Dallas Cowboys back to 26th overall, and they threw in second, third, and fourth too. It's a rather large mock draft class, but that just gives us more prospects to learn about before the real draft kicks off.

Here's how my board fell.

26: R1 P26 OT Darnell Wright, Tennessee: Having Wright on the board in the first round set my whole draft up. I wanted a starting right tackle, and Wright projects to be a day-one starter. His athletic testing numbers show he has the ability to work in Chicago's wide zone scheme.

53: R2 P22 DL Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh: His production and athleticism could very well land Kancey in the first round, but he's a scheme-specific type of player at 6'1", 281 pounds that could push him down the board.

58: R2 P27 DL Tuli Tuipulotu, USC: Many analysts thought Tuli has the skill set to play on the interior, but he dropped some weight before the combine (6'3", 266) and is probably going to play defensive end in the NFL now. Wherever he lines up, he's a good football player that can get after the QB.

61: R2 P30 C Joe Tippmann, Wisconsin: There are a few BIG 10 centers the Bears could be interested in and each project to be eventual starters.

64: R3 P1 G Steve Avila, TCU: Avila can play guard or center, and with uncertainty surrounding how the Poles/Eberflus regime feels about Teven Jenkins, I could see a double dip early on the interior of the o-line.

90: R3 P27 CB Darius Rush, South Carolina: Rush has good length (6'2" with 33⅜" arms) and speed (4.36 forty) and is a physical player. His technique needs some work, but he has all the tools to develop as a zone corner.

103: R4 P1 WR A.T. Perry, Wake Forest: Perry needs more consistent hands, but he flashed at the East-West Shrine Game.

129: R4 P27 DL Keondre Coburn, Texas: Coburn has the size to play the 1-tech DT spot (6'2", 332) and has a surprisingly quick first step.

133: R4 P31 EDGE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pittsburgh: Chicago needs to rework the d-line, so a fourth at the position isn't too much in my opinion. Baldonado (6'4', 251) needs to work on his pass rush, but there's some upside if he can put it together,

136: R5 P1 S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame: The Bears need some safety depth as a couple of their vets are out of contract and still unsigned.

148: R5 P13 CB Riley Moss, Iowa: Moss has the physicality and instincts to play in the Bears' zone-based scheme.

218: R7 P1 OT Kilian Zierer, Auburn: Good size at 6'7", 304 pounds, and decent athleticism to develop into a swing tackle.

258: R7 P41 QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA: Sure, the Bears just re-signed Nathan Peterman, but he's just a vet that can play in a pinch if called up from the practice squad. DTR is a much closer athletic comp to Justin Fields and makes a lot of sense as the QB3.

Would you like to see any of these guys have their names called by the Bears?