Chicago Bears 2022 NFL Draft Analysis & Grades

By Ha Kung Wong

The 2022 NFL Draft is complete!  And although it didn’t land exactly how we thought it would in our Round 1 and Round 2 Mock Draft, we did see teams fill voids that we knew they had with some terrific players.  And perhaps most importantly, the 2022 NFL Draft featured two “basketball players” get drafted with Chris Paul to the Washington Commanders and Coby Bryant to the Seattle Seahawks.  With Michael Jordan getting drafted by the Cincinatti Bengals in 2019, I’m ready for a full-on NBA All-Star game!  But I digress.

In all seriousness, it was great fun to follow, and we had plenty of surprises (Malik Willis anyone?).  But now it’s time to again turn to my childhood team, the Chicago Bears and grade every one of their 11 draft picks this year.  Don’t agree?  Sound off and tweet at me!

2nd Round

Pick 39
Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington

To be honest, I was thinking the Bears should prioritize more help for Justin Fields, but there’s clearly significant needs on defense as well, particular at CB with a thin bench behind Jaylen Johnson.  And Kyler Gordon is a terrific value in the 2nd round with the Bears first draft pick.

Gordon has significant versatility, having played both slot and outside corner at Washington.  And although he’s been partly in the shadow of teammate Trent McDuffie, he’s demonstrated lockdown corner potential, not allowing a touchdown in 722 coverage snaps over three seasons at Washington.  He’s 6 foot, 194 pounds, and ran a 4.52 40-yard dash, which might have given some teams some pause.  But he plays faster on field, and in coverage, Gordon can play press, off-man, and zone, plus he was a special teams standout, which gives him plenty of opportunity in Chicago.  In 2021, he was named All-Pac-12 with 2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups and 0 touchdowns allowed in 345 coverage snaps.

And for you trivia hounds out there, Gordon isn’t just big on football. He grew up participating in martial arts and all sorts of traveling competitive dance including ballet, jazz and lyrical.  How’s that for versatility?

Grade: A-
Pick 48
Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State 

Sticking with the same theme, the Bears shored up defense again recognizing they’re a bit thin at safety pass Eddie Jackson.  Which makes Jaquan Brisker an instant starter for the Bears.

Brisker has spent lots of time with the Bears in recent months, first during an interview at the combine and later on a top-30 visit to Chicago.  Clearly, he left an impression and for good reason.  He’s known for his toughness and tenacity in coverage and was named AP All-American second team in 2021 having the fourth most tackles for loss (5.5) of any Big Ten defensive back.  At Penn State, he allowed just one touchdown in almost 1,000 snaps.

At 6′ 1″ and 199 pounds, he’s a big time run defender who excels at shooting gaps and has a quick nose for the ball in any situation.  He’s a terrific utility tool on defense that can be used in a myriad of schemes.  At the Combine he put up a reasonably solid 4.49 second 40-yard dash, 34.5″ vertical and 10’4″ broad jump.

I suspect he’ll be a day 1 starter with the Bears at safety and will have an instant impact.  The only reason this doesn’t get an A grade from me is because the Bears drafted a lock down corner at Pick 39 and really did need to provide more weapons on offense to put Justin Fields in a position to succeed this upcoming season.

Grade: B+

3rd Round

Pick 71
Velus Jones Jr., WR, Tennessee

Finally, some help for Fields!  And I honestly couldn’t be happier with the Velus Jones Jr., who not only can take the top off defenses but can be an immediate contributor on specials teams.  In 2021 at Tennessee, Jones had the MOST punt return yards (272) and MOST kick return yards (628) of any player in the SEC.  Jones also had 286 yards after contact, good for third most among SEC wide receivers in 2021, which all in total led him to be named all-SEC first-team.

Receiving & Rushing Table
Rece
Rece
Rece
Rush
Rush
Rush
Rush
Year
School
G
Rec
Yds
TD
Att
Yds
Avg
TD
*2016
USC
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
*2017
USC
13
6
46
0
5
15
3.0
0
2018
USC
11
24
266
1
6
13
2.2
1
*2019
USC
11
6
35
0
0
0
0
2020
Tennessee
10
22
280
3
3
16
5.3
0
*2021
Tennessee
13
62
807
7
1
15
15.0
0
Career
Overall
120
1434
11
15
59
3.9
1
USC
36
347
1
11
28
2.5
1
Tennessee
84
1087
10
4
31
7.8
0

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table

Yeah, he’s a little bit older at 25 after 6 years of college (honestly, who of us wanted to leave college?), but he put up a 40-yard dash time at the Combine of 4.31 seconds, ranked second among WRs and fourth overall.  The speed is real and so are the yards after catch.

I predict instant impact on special teams and gadget-type role on offense.  Outside of Darnell Mooney and Byron Pringle, I don’t see much competition for Jones to get snaps on offense.

If you want to know more about Jones, check out this terrific write up by my former podcast co-host and current EIC of The Burgundy and Gold Report, Adam Aniba!

Grade: B+

5th Round

Pick 168
Braxton Jones, OL, Southern Utah

Keeping Justin Fields upright is also a big deal and we finally see some help for the offensive line in the 5th round.  First up is Braxton Jones, which is an amazing value this late in the draft as he was landing on average around 100 to 120 on most draft pundits big boards.

He’s a big 6′ 5″ and 310 lbs. with a long wingspan and major explosiveness off the line.  There’s some question coming from a small-school level, but he’s going to do wonders shoring up a line that allowed the most sacks (58) in the NFL in 2021.  In fact, Braxton allowed just 3 sacks in 442 blocking snaps in 2021 at Southern Utah, which in turn led him to being named to the AP FCS All-American first team.

Grade: A
Pick 174
Dominique Robinson, DL, Miami (Ohio)

Here’s yet another steal in the draft, as Domique Robinson was listed as high as in the 80’s of some prominent draft big boards this year.  And it’s actually a little surprising considering he played WR for his first three seasons before switching.  That didn’t matter, though, as he still managed to be named Third-team All-MAC and getting an invite as DL to the Senior Bowl.  And even without starting, he still amassed 29 tackles, 8.5 for loss with 4.5 sacks in 12 games.  He’s a big 6′ 5″ and 253 points and moves much faster than that on the field.  There’s clearly a learning curve ahead of him, but the upside is immense for a 5th round pick.

Grade: A

6th Round

Pick 186
Zachary Thomas, OL, San Diego State

As I was saying previously, I love getting help for Fields on the offensive line seeing as how terrible it was in 2021, allowing the most sacks of any team in the NFL.  But although shoring up the offensive line isn’t a bad idea, I’m less excited about Zach Thomas. That being said, Thomas, who is 6′ 4″ and 308 pounds, started 29 games over the past three seasons for the Aztecs and showed some versatility playing 17 games at right tackle, 12 games at left tackle and 2 games at right guard.  He’s another older prospect having spent 6 years in college but does show solid fundamentals, excelling at the run game and should provide good depth.

Grade: C
Pick 203
Trestan Ebner, RB, BAYLOR

I’m not completely sure the Bears needed another running back seeing as how they already have proven commodities in David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.  But Trestan Ebner did have an impressive five seasons at Baylor, rushing 343 times for 1,690 yards and 9 touchdowns, while also having 127 catches for 1,515 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He also had a huge impact on special teams averaging 25.3 yards per kick return and totaling three kick return touchdowns, resulting in being named Big-12 Special Teams Player of the Year in both 2020 and 2021. He was also recognized with an All-Big 12 First-Team All-Purpose player honor.

He has good size at 5′ 11″ and 206 lbs., and cuts well while carrying the ball while also managing to find and hit holes without hesitation.  With at least 20 receptions and 267 receiving yards in each of past five seasons, it’s pretty clear that Ebner can play a 3rd down or passing back role in the short term and maybe even take some of the load off early downs.  I really like the player, but I’m a little unsure how the Bears will utilize 3 running backs with overlapping skill sets.

Grade: B+
Pick 207
Doug Kramer, OL, ILL

Again, I’m not going to argue with continuing to build depth on the offensive line, and I’m a huge Illini fan, but I do have some questions as to where Doug Kramer fits for the Bears.  That being said, at 6′ 2″ and 305 lbs., he has shown good quickness and leverage at Illinois playing mostly center and was named All-Big Ten second team and made the Rimington Award and Outland Trophy watchlist for best offensive linemen/centers.  He won’t be an immediate starter, but there’s certainly potential.

Grade: C
7th Round
Pick 226
Ja’Tyre Carter, OL, Southern

The Bears really tried to fill out offensive line depth this draft, picking yet another offensive lineman in Ja’Tyre Carter.  Carter started all 13 games in 2019 and all five of the team’s games in the shortened 2021 spring season, getting first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) honors, following that up with second-team All-SWAC after he started all 11 games in the fall, along with being named the SWAC Offensive Lineman of the Year.  Although he mostly played tackle at Southern, scouts project that, with some growth, he’ll may fit as a guard at the NFL level.  There’s a good amount to like, including his work run-blocking, but there’s certainly need for growth prior to being able to start.

Grade: B
Pick 254
Elijah Hicks, S, California

More swings for the secondary by the Bears in the seventh round selecting Elijah Hicks.  Last season Hicks racked up 72 tackles in 12 games and also added three interceptions and four forced fumbles.  Hicks was named First-Team All-Pac-12 and was recognized as Cal’s Defensive MVP in 2021 for his efforts.  He played primarily deep middle with some time in the slot, but measures out a tad smaller at the position at 5′ 11″ and 200 lbs., while also dealing with a foot injury.  Again, I think there’s going to be a learning curve, but there’s certainly potential, and some possibility that he could play special teams as he gets up to speed.

Grade: C
Pick 255
Trenton Gill, P, NC State

I certainly don’t have anything against drafting punters, but this one is a bit of a head scratcher, as I’m not sure they had to draft a punter at the end of the seventh round as opposed to wait for the myriad of UDFAs to sign after the draft.  Trenton Gill walked on at North Carolina State and became a three-year starter there. His tenure was a little up-and-down with some inconsistency in 2021, but he did manage to average respectable hang time and also left as the Wolf Pack’s all-time leader with a career average of 46.3 yards per punt.  The Bears currently have journeyman Ryan Winslow on the roster to replace outgoing veteran Pat O’Donnell, who moved over to the Packers.  I’d expect Gill to least provide some competition for the position but wouldn’t be surprised if the answer for the Bears is another punter in free agency.

Grade: D+
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