Mock Drafters Giving Bears Defensive Line a Good Early Stir

Like people sitting in coach for an overseas flight, NFL draft lovers get antsy.

They need to get up and stir during the long wait. The draft was at the end of April. Bears camp is eight days away for rookies, 11 for veterans.

And draft season doesn't really get started again until Black Monday after the regular NFL season ends. It's possible to look at it before then but none of it really matters until draft order can at least be established for the glob of non-playoff teams.

Fortunately for draft lovers, there are always ways to determine a draft order and as a result both The 33rd Team and ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller have provided an oasis in the midst of an on-the-clock desert. They held first-round mock drafts with college teams not even practicing, let alone NFL teams.

Fortunately for Bears fans, they have the right idea. At least, they have a better idea than Bears GM Ryan Poles had this year when he avoided the lack of pass rush with the ninth pick and again with their third- and fourth-round picks. Instead, they waited for Austin Booker and promises he wouldn't be the next fifth-round pass rush washout in the mold of Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson.

That's not enough assurance.

So with the 17th pick in the only round of a mock 2025 draft, Miller had the Bears take Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams.

At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, Miller mentioned how the Bulldogs used Williams on the interior at times. A 265-pound interior player wouldn't fly in the NFL, obviously. Williams will be an edge but with the Bears 6-5, 265 is ideal size for an edge.

"His nine sacks in two seasons of rotational work point to the impact he can make with full-time reps in 2024," Miller said of the Georgia pass rusher. "Williams' combination of power and a sudden first-step could get him drafted in the top 10."

The Bears wouldn't want to be selecting anyone in the top 10 next spring, unless they traded to move there. And they wouldn't even want to be picking 17th but that's a position where the ESPN power rankings have them at the moment, 16th best and with the 17th pick.

The other mock by Ian Valentino from The33rdteam.com, has the Bears thinking the same way but with a different result.

The Bears were picking 18th in this one, as The33rdteam.com based this on reverse order of FanDuel Super Bowl odds. That's as good a way as any at this point.

The Bears chose Nic Scourton, the Texas A&M edge rusher.

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You might have a hard time trying to find him if you're looking at the Texas A&M past statistics because he just transferred there for this season from Purdue.

And you might have a difficult time trying to find all of his statistics from Purdue. He was going by another name in 2022. He is the player formerly known as Nic Caraway and as Scourton was good enough that he was a highly sought transfer portal player from the Big Ten.

At 6-4, 280, he also would be a fit for the Bears system. Matt Eberflus likes the stout edge to defend the run and rush the passer.

However, in Scourton's case there is plenty of proof he can cme off the edge. He had 10 sacks for the Boilermakers last year after two the previous season. He also made 50 tackles in his first season as a full-time starter.

Noting the Bears' need for more young talent, especially on the edge, Valentino sees this as an ideal pick.

"Nic Scourton is relentlessly strong and flashes crafty handwork that should lead to a key complementary role across from Montez Sweat," he wrote.

A pass rush rotation with Sweat, Scourton, Booker and one other player would be something the Bears might be able to take into their future for sacks and to force poor throws for interceptions.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven