Chicago Bears' draft struggles are their biggest downfall as of late
The Chicago Bears have seen inconsistencies in recent years during the NFL Draft. From drafting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to replacing him with Justin Fields later on, they've taken chances and moved on from plenty of players. That being said, how have they done after the first round? Well, according to two draft experts from ESPN, […]
The Chicago Bears have seen inconsistencies in recent years during the NFL Draft. From drafting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to replacing him with Justin Fields later on, they've taken chances and moved on from plenty of players. That being said, how have they done after the first round? Well, according to two draft experts from ESPN, it hasn't been very impressive from Chicago.
Matt Miller and Jordan Reid compiled a complete ranking for the top 50 draft steals of the last ten years. The following details are how the two analysts formulated the top 50 list.
Draft analysts Matt Miller and Jordan Reid each ranked their personal top 75, which we combined to form a final top 50 list. We had a few rules when considering players:
- First-rounders weren't included, even if they were taken late on Day 1. Undrafted free agents were also excluded since the list would skew in that direction.
- To qualify, a player must have been drafted at least 15 spots — roughly half a round — later than he should have been, and that's just the floor for the exercise.
- There aren't any 2023 draft picks here — they haven't even played a game yet! Only players drafted between 2013 and 2022 were eligible for our ranking.
Who ranks among the best value picks in recent years?
Unfortunately, the Bears are the only team in the NFC North to not have a player listed in the rankings. Not a single one. For example, Green Bay has Davante Adams on the list. The Vikings have Stefon Diggs, and the Lions have Darius Slay. All three of those teams have more than one player on the list as well – actually.
It's not the best look for Chicago's front office over the past ten years. That's probably a major reason that they've seen some shake-up during the past decade. Now, they hope that they've made the correct hires to make sure this won't be the case for the next decade of NFL drafts.
© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports