With the NFL free agency frenzy slowly winding down, the fury of mock draft season will soon take over football media. It’s not like 2023 mock drafts haven’t already been spreading like wildfire, but as post-free agency rosters crystallize across the league, NFL mock drafts will become a more worthwhile exercise.
The Chicago Bears signed nine players during the first week of free agency, and their moves have helped clarify their likely approach to the first round of the 2023 NFL draft. The Bears signed two linebackers, two defensive linemen, a guard, a backup quarterback, a tight end, and two running backs. Absent from that list is an edge rusher and an offensive tackle, two positions most Bears fans assumed would be priorities in the opening hours of free agency.
Now that most of the best pass rushers and offensive linemen have been signed, it’s easy to project one of those positions being the Chicago Bears’ first-round selection. According to NFL Mock Draft Database, which aggregated 77 Bears mock drafts (and counting), the masses agree that GM Ryan Poles will find his right tackle in the first round.
