Here we go again. My first mock mock draft came before free agency started, which means there have been a ton of changes, especially at the top of the draft and with the Bears.

What I don’t have is changes at the very top. I think the Titans and Browns are pretty much locked into who they are going to take and both picks make a lot of sense. After that, however, it’s anyone’s guess.

By now, the Bears are likely keying in on a handful of players they either want to take at 11 or will try to trade back. I did a “big board” a couple weeks ago, but this is very fluid. If I did that again, there would be several changes.

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Art of Men is one of our primary sponsors (and a fantastic organization you should really check out). This year the organization is offering a pair of Bears tickets for the coming season to the winner of our NFL Draft Contest. The contest details will be announced Monday, April 25th. (It will essentially be guessing the Bears picks the same way we do it every year but we haven’t settled on the points system yet.) But in order to be eligible for the contest YOU MUST REGISTER.

There are two ways to register:

• Follow @ArtofMen on Twitter and send a message to the account marked “Draft Contest”.
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REGISTRATION WILL BE CLOSED ON FRIDAY APRIL 22ND AT 6:00 PM CT.

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You’d be hard-pressed to fine anyone who deserves the title of NFL Draft Expert more than former Chicago Bears Director of College Scouting Greg Gabriel, who agreed to do a quick Question and Answer about the upcoming NFL Draft with DBB.

While Gabriel was in charge of the Bears college scouting, they drafted players such as Lance Briggs, Tommie Harris, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Nathan Vasher. Gabriel worked in the NFL for 30 years and currently lends his expertise to National Football Post and 670 The Score. In other words, he knows his shit.

Q: I know every organization is different, but with free agency, the combine and most of the pro days already in the books, can you explain what the final month before the draft was like for the front offices you worked for?

A: The final month is mostly draft prep. Many of the allowable 30 visits come in then. (They can come in until a week before the draft). Depending on the club, the scouts come in for final meetings and setting the board. That could be anywhere from two to three weeks before the draft. The scouts are also making calls to perspective UDFA’s just trying to recruit. If the GM feels they might need a little more info on a kid, then he may send out a coach or scout for a private workout. We also make a lot of calls to gather as much info as possible as to where certain guys may get drafted.

Q: One of the things I’ve noticed about the Bears is how much they value length. In Vic Fangio’s time with the 49ers and John Fox’s time with the Broncos, they drafted 13 defensive linemen and edge players, all with arms longer than 33 inches. Can you explain why length is so important for pass-rushers, specifically?

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The Bears found a bonafide starting safety in the middle of the 2015 Draft. There may be another lurking in the middle of this year’s edition.

From a piece a few months back at NFL.com:

The scoop: “He’s a better football player than Shaq Thompson and Deone Bucannon were when they came out.” — Area scout on Southern Utah safety Miles Killebrew

The skinny: That is high praise — Thompson and Bucannon both were first-round picks. However, we’re not surprised to hear such talk about Killebrew, who has accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He jumps off the tape and has a chance to be a name you’ll hear a lot leading up to the draft. Killebrew has good size at a little under 6-2 and 230 pounds. He’s been clocked at 4.45 in the 40. Everything we hear is that his character is impeccable.

Why did I find myself watching a Southern Utah game with a dozen Guinness in me late one Saturday night? I have no idea. But I watched them play a second time to watch Killebrew alone.

Killebrew reminds me of one of my favorite Bears safeties in recent memory: Tony Parrish. He’s fine with the ball in the air but seems most comfortable closing in on the football and hitting guys. The Bucannon comparisons are lofty praise (you will recall Deone love in this space prior to that draft) but Killebrew is going to be starting safety in the league.

While wide receiver seems like a position of strength, the Bears appear to be pursuing players that would lead us to believe they’re not satisfied.

I try not to believe too much on the first day of free agency but the fact that a Seattle-area journo reported Jermaine Kearse was being pursued by the Bears is interesting. Their sales pitch to Kearse had to be based on opportunity. They couldn’t have been trying to sell him on being their third receiver over being the second receiver in Seattle, even if it were for more money.

Couple that with the fact that earlier this week it was reported the Bears were setting up a visit with Baylor receiver Corey Coleman, a likely first-round pick, and you have a team showing genuine interest in wide receivers.

I’m told former #Baylor WR Corey Coleman has workouts and/or visits lined up with the #Bengals, #Lions and #Bears among others.

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) March 22, 2016

They’d probably have to use their first round pick — either at number 11 or a trade back — to net Coleman. Would they be spending a top draft pick on a receiver they expected to be the third or fourth option? Even if they’re just considering him with the 41st pick,  they’d still expect Coleman to be one of their top two receivers going forward. Investing a huge contract in one receiver and high picks on two others just doesn’t make sense for a team that wants to run the ball.

So, what aren’t they telling us?

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The Bears almost certainly have their own big board made up and, while we have no idea who is on it or where they land, this is my best guess.

First, a few things I considered:

• Every GM says they’ll take the best player available and I’m sure they intend to do just that. But in their ideal world the best player available would also fill a need. So, yes, need was a priority.

• I don’t pretend to be a scout, so most of these ranks are based on consensus combined with what I know about what the Bears prefer.

• The Bears prefer players with long arms. Look at pretty much every player they have brought in. Arm length is a big deal to them. Players who might be rated highly, but would have to be exceptions for the Bears include Shaq Lawson and Vernon Hargreaves. Maybe they’d make an exception for either of those players but I’m not betting on it.

• Ryan Pace always talks about explosive playmakers, so I gave preference to guys who either hurt the other team’s quarterback or help the Bears.

• I hate when people say he’s not going to be there but, for the purpose of this, I eliminated players who pretty much everyone thinks will be picked before the Bears are on the clock. They include: Laremy Tunsil, Joey Bosa, Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey.

Without further adieu…

Bears Big Board

1. DeForest Buckner, DL, Oregon. There isn’t a more perfect fit for what the Bears need and want right now. He’d give them three good defensive linemen who can stop the run and provide at least some pass rush.

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Muhammad Wilkerson will only be 26 years old when the 2016 season begins. And, if he’s medically cleared, he will be one of the best defensive ends in the sport. He is also available for the right price. But should the Bears pay it?

There are two sides to the Wilkerson coin. First, the Bears have to be willing to bail out of the 11th overall selection. There are not many foreseeable scenarios wherein the Bears don’t, at the very least, swap first round picks with the Jets (with the Bears throwing later picks into the mix as well). Second, the Bears will have to work out a deal with Wilkerson’s agent that is going to guarantee him no less than $40 million. Giving big money to defensive linemen is the biggest hit or miss prospect in the free agency game. For every Reggie White there’s been an Albert Haynesworth.

Would I make the deal? In a heartbeat. Wilkerson is the defensive piece that would immediately put the Bears over the top – a top tier defensive end with the ability to ruin games. Is that player available at 11? Maybe. But why play theoretical when the facts are right in front of you. Wilkerson has done it at the highest level and at 26 he’s going to be able to do it for the next 3-5 years. Is it a hefty price tag? You’re damn right it is. But spoiler alert, folks. Great players cost a lot of money. The reason the Bears have so much cap room is because they haven’t had any good players to pay for a long time.

Swap ones and try to convince the Jets to take an additional fourth. (It’ll probably cost a third but that’s fine.) Pay Wilkerson the contract he’s earned. Go from being a team expected to significantly improve in 2016 to a team that may very well contend for a division title or more.

Twitter is not the avenue for nuance. Hopefully DBB can be. My thoughts on Martellus Bennett’s trade to New England:

• I completely understand the trade from the front office perspective. Ryan Pace is a young GM in a high-pressure gig and he’s not going to employ anyone he views as not having bought into his program.
• Nobody begrudges Bennett wanting more money as he’s one of the best tight ends in the league. But when his lack of commitment on the field was perceived as linked to financial demands, his hour glass flipped.
• Hard to criticize a player for not trying hard but I’ve done so with Bennett multiple times this season. It was also very clear from watching the games that Jay Cutler didn’t believe Bennett fought hard enough for balls thrown in his direction.
• The phrase “buy in” puts everything on Bennett. But did the Bears try and sell him? Did Pace ever sit Bennett down and explain how he can thrive in this system, with this quarterback? It was in the best interest of both parties to make this work.

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Few things of note worth weighing in on.

• Martellus Bennett is now a Patriot. This should thrill a player who cares about one thing: money. Ryan Pace doesn’t hesitate to dump players who don’t fit the culture. But I will reiterate what I’ve said for months. Bears should have spent entire offseason convincing Marty to buy-in. They’re worse without him.
• Bears signed former Broncos snapper Aaron Brewer to a one-year deal. Most interesting thought on the signing comes from the Twitter feed of former Bears scout Greg Gabriel: “Don’t think for a minute the Bears signing a new snapper wasn’t all about Gould’s misses last year. That’s ALL it was about.” Do I buy the snapper being to blame for Robbie blowing games? No. Do I doubt the team considers it a factor? No.
• Per Jimmy Shapiro at Bovada the Besrs have gone from 50/1 to 40/1 to win the Super Bowl this year. Have to say that’s a substantial jump considering the lack of sexiness surrounding their free agent haul. Vegas clearly understands the Bears are better today than they were ten days ago.
• Based on CJ Anderson’s comments (re: chasing more money to Chicago) one has to assume the Bears had interest in the Broncos back. My only question is…why?  Anderson is an okay back but can’t you find a bunch of him in the middle of the draft? And why would the Bears want to put money into a position there they could potentially have a young star at cost?
• Zach Miller was always coming back to Chicago, barring a huge divide in compensation. I don’t play the source game but here’s something I know: Cutler lobbied Miller aggressively to return. Don’t be surprised if Miller isn’t rewarded on the stat sheet next season.

While still unlikely, the possibility of the Bears drafting a quarterback with the 11th pick in the first round is no longer as crazy as it once seemed.

Daniel Jeremiah’s most recent mock draft created a stir amongst Bears fans because he had them taking Carson Wentz in the first round. Ryan Pace has made it clear he wants to build around Jay Cutler, but he has also said he would take the best player available in the draft. The moves he made in free agency should give him the option of doing just that and if it’s a quarterback, so be it.

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