KANSAS CITY — With the conclusion of the NFL Draft in Kansas City Saturday, here is a quick recap of the Chicago Bears’ 10-player haul they took home in this year’s NFL draft.
1. Darnell Wright – OT/Tennessee – Rd. 1, Pick 10
Even after the Bears shipped off the no. 1 overall pick to Carolina for a trove of selections and wide receiver D.J. Moore, there was still widespread ideations being made on what need Chicago would address with their top draft pick.
Would it be a pass rusher? A defensive tackle? Perhaps an offensive tackle? Another wide receiver? A corner?
Every single one of those position groups needed to be addressed after an abysmal 3-win season a year ago, and as fate would have it, the Bears decided it was time to invest in an offensive tackle to help keep Justin Fields upright.
Enter Darnell Wright.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Wright was a four-year starter at Tennessee and this past season was where the “proverbial light” flipped on for him.
A powerful, nasty offensive tackle whose strengths are based in the run game, Wright showed how promising he could be matched up against premier edge talent when the Volunteers played Alabama.
Wright allowed one QB pressure playing against the Crimson Tide’s Will Anderson Jr., and would go on to perform well year-round protecting Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton, giving up only 8 pressures on the season.
2. Gervon Dexter – DT/Florida – Rd. 2, Pick 22
Standing at 6’6″ and weighing in at 310 pounds, Gervon Dexter is a hulk of an interior lineman.
According to PFF, Dexter’s 4.88 40-yard dash put him in the 83rd percentile among interior defenders in their database, displaying the athleticism and potential he has at his size, but at the age of 21, Dexter is still a bit raw.
If he can turn his explosiveness into production at the next level, he could be a force for the Bears on the interior of their defensive line for years to come.
3. Tyrique Stevenson – CB/Miami – Rd. 2, Pick 25
A corner with above-average size and build for the position (6’0″, 198 pounds), Tyrique Stevenson originally started his college football career with the Georgia Bulldogs before transferring to the University of Miami and settling down into becoming the Hurricanes’ shutdown corner on the outside this past season.
PFF said Stevenson is firmly an outside, on-ball, man-coverage corner at the next level, who has the instincts and IQ to play well in off-coverages too.
4. Zacch Pickens – DT/South Carolina – Rd. 3, Pick 1
Where Dexter has immense athletic potential, South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens is a defensive tackle “with more pass rush juice,” according to PFF.
The former gamecock put up an 11.5% pass-rush win rate last season, despite flashes of inconsistency throughout the year.
If the high-end flashes Pickens showed as an interior pass rusher become more commonplace, he could play a major role in helping redefine a Bears pass-rush unit that ranked dead last in the NFL in sacks in 2022-23.
5. Roschon Johnson – RB/Texas – Rd. 4, Pick 13
The change-of-pace back stationed behind Bijan Robinson at the University of Texas last year, Roschon Johnson put up impressive numbers in the reps he was given.
Johnson finished the year with an 88.3 rushing grade overall, with a 90.0 flat zone rushing grade. Take that and pair it with the 4.28 yards he averaged after contact on the ground, and you can understand why he broke 46 tackles on 94 carries in 2022.
If all of Chicago’s domino’s fall in a row, he is the ideal bell-cow, power runner to use in compliment with the smaller, shiftier Khalil Herbert in the Bears’ backfield.
6. Tyler Scott – WR/Cincinnati – Rd. 4, Pick 31
Tyler Scott checks in at 5-foot-10-inches tall and 177 pounds dripping wet, but where he’ll earn his money at the next level is the ability to take the top off a defense.
The running back turned wide receiver is still learning the position according to PFF, but his 16.4 yards-per-catch last year at Cincinnati shows his big play ability could open up the playbook a little bit more for Justin Fields and Matt Eberflus on offense as he settles more and more into the position.
7. Noah Sewell – ILB/Oregon – Rd. 5, Pick 14
Another Sewell gets his time card and clocks in to go to work in the NFC North.
The younger brother of Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell, Noah Sewell is a downhill, physical thumper who’s best used as a blitzing linebacker or an extra edge rusher to apply pressure to the quarterback.
This pick was a bit puzzling given Eberflus is not a coach who relies on the blitz all that much (the Bears blitzed 22.6% of the time last season, good for 23rd most in the NFL), but perhaps Eberflus has a more imaginative pass-rush strategy in mind for next year.
8. Terell Smith – CB/Minnesota – Rd. 5, Pick 31
According to PFF, Terell Smith put it all together in 2022 at the University of Minnesota, registering an 80.9 overall grade as a corner for the Golden Gophers.
Another plus-size corner (6’0″, 204 pounds), PFF says Smith has the straight-line speed to go with his size to play in the NFL, where he will need to improve is his agility.
Given how big Smith is, a move to safety to learn behind Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker could be the move here.
9. Travis Bell – DT/Kennesaw State – Rd. 7, Pick 1
The first-ever NFL draft pick in Kennesaw State football history, Travis Bell checks in a little on the short side, he’s 6-foot-tall, but he weighs in at 310 pounds and carries some impressive strength and athleticism to go with it. Bell notched 30 reps on the bench press and a 33-inc vertical at his pro day, while earning an 88.9 run defense grade last year in college.
Seventh round picks are always a shot in the dark, but if Bell pans out, he’s an early down rotational piece that can help stop the run.
10. Kendall Williamson – S/Stanford – Rd. 7, Pick 31
According to PFF, Kendall Williamson is an extremely experienced player, he registered 2,608 snaps over five years in college, but he didn’t register a PFF grade above 70.0 in any of those five seasons while missing on 20% of the tackles he attempted playing in Stanford’s secondary.
Williamson finished his fifth-year season with 50 tackles (good for third among Cardinal defenders), 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1 interception.
