GM Ryan Pace was completely quiet in terms of any movement through the first four rounds of the NFL draft. Something that is rather unusual for him. However, that completely changed once the 5th round arrived. He made two trades including one with the rival Minnesota Vikings in order to secure three picks in the round. The Chicago Bears head man later stated that pre-draft discussions identified the 5th as “a sweet spot” the team could exploit in terms of likely talent available.
Was he right?
Only time will truly tell. However, when gauging the reaction of top draft experts one starts to get the sense that Pace knew exactly what he was doing. It starts with Trevis Gipson, the edge rusher out of Tulsa. Dan Brugler of The Athletic, one of the most respected draft minds in the business, believes he might end up being one of the biggest steals on Day 3 of any team.
“Although his tall center of gravity hurts his ability to stay low at times, Gipson competes with the energy and length that makes him tough to slow down. If the Bears’ coaches can get him to adopt more of a pass rush plan, he will end up outplaying his draft spot.”
The Chicago Bears praise didn’t stop there though
Having been able to keep their original 163rd pick due, which was clearly by design, they next grabbed cornerback Kindle Vildor out of Georgia Southern. He was one of the lesser-known names among the media. Not a surprise coming from a smaller school. However, he has plenty of fans in the scouting community. Top NFL Network expert and former scout Daniel Jeremiah is one of them.
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Vildor believes what got him on the map was his tape against Clemson in 2018 when he gave their bevy of talented receivers fits all night. Bears scout Sam Summerville later said the team loves the edge he plays with. He doesn’t back down from anybody and is always going for the ball.
Vildor wasn’t the last 5th rounder though.
Pace struck again just minutes later when he struck a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up from the 6th round to pick #173. He used this on wide receiver Darnell Mooney out of Tulane. This kid turned heads at the scouting combine when he ran a blistering 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. He can move and move fast.
Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog got in touch with a scout friend and asked him about the kid. The answer he got told an interesting story.
“Don’t waste a pick on Hamler in the second when you can get a guy like Darnell Mooney in the fourth.”
K.J. Hamler of Penn State was one of the most celebrated speedsters in this class. He went early in the 2nd round to the Denver Broncos. What’s even more hilarious about this is Hamler was compared to Tavon Austin while Mooney was compared to Travis Benjamin.
Benjamin ended up having a more productive career than Austin. If those comparisons hold true, the Bears got the better player three rounds later. It’s worth noting Mooney was more productive in college. He had 1,706 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns his final two years for Tulane. Hamler had 1,658 yards and 13 touchdowns for Penn State. Hamler averaged 16.9 yards per catch and Mooney averaged 17.7.
So it really does seem like the two players are basically the same. Obviously the odds of all three players working out are low. Still, it sounds like Pace gave his team a chance to score a hit with at least one of them. Considering how well the Chicago Bears have done in the 5th round (Adrian Amos, Jordan Howard, Bilal Nichols) it seems okay to believe good things will happen.
