Bears land massive steal in second round of latest NFL mock draft
The latest mock draft from ESPN has the Chicago Bears landing one of the biggest steals in the 2023 NFL Draft. ESPN's Todd McShay revealed his newest mock draft on Tuesday and he has the Bears selecting Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski with the No. 9 overall selection. That's a solid selection for Chicago, but […]
The latest mock draft from ESPN has the Chicago Bears landing one of the biggest steals in the 2023 NFL Draft.
ESPN's Todd McShay revealed his newest mock draft on Tuesday and he has the Bears selecting Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski with the No. 9 overall selection.
That's a solid selection for Chicago, but it's not the big steal that fans should be excited about. That comes in the second round of McShay's mock draft.
McShay has the Bears selecting Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young with the No. 61 overall selection.
(McShay also has Chicago selecting UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet with the No. 53 overall pick.)
From ESPN: The Bears had just 20 sacks last season, worst in the NFL, and bringing in Young would get them going in the right direction. He had seven sacks in his final season at Tennessee, and his 36 pressures tied for 22nd in the nation. He quickly re-directs and has an explosive lower body, but he's still raw when it comes to technique.
Young has one of the most unique stories in the draft. The South Carolina native was working out a Dollar General when he found out about tryouts at Georgia Military College. Young played one season at GMI (his 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) before being discovered by former Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Oddly, Young never played for Pruitt as he was fired before the 2021 season. Young, however, stuck around at Tennessee and quickly found success.
This past season, Young totaled 37 tackles (12 for loss) and seven sacks.
Young played well in the SEC despite still being raw as a football player. The extremely athletic edge rusher (he ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and recorded an 11-foot long jump) hasn't even come close to reaching his ceiling yet.
We know from his story that Young is a grinder. We also know he has seemingly unlimited potential due to his athleticism. He sounds like a perfect fit in Chicago's culture. If they draft Young in the second round, the Bears could be getting a first-round talent.
