NEWSLETTER
Pre-draft hype season is upon us and a recent Bears prospect meeting is a real eyebrow-raiser:
Also appears as if the #Bears met with Josh Jacobs making it 15 total RBs they've met with. https://t.co/8uuxAprhu3
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) April 7, 2019
It’s no surprise the Bears have met with seemingly every running back under the sun. HOWEVER, Josh Jacobs isn’t any run-of-the-mill running back prospect. Jacobs is arguably the best back in this draft and the type of two-way player who could be an impact rusher upon arrival. There isn’t a consensus on which team likes Jacobs the most, but the feeling is that he will surely go in the first round in the upcoming NFL Draft. But the Bears don’t have a pick in the first round … so, what does GM Ryan Pace have up his sleeve?
Trying to guess what the Bears will do on draft weekend can be a fool’s errand, but it can be fun. We know that Pace isn’t afraid to trade up in the draft to get a player he likes. Between trades to move up and select Leonard Floyd, Mitch Trubisky, and Anthony Miller, we have seen Pace mortgage future picks to snatch up his preferred player. But we have also seen Pace maneuver around the draft and pick up draft picks by sliding back after moving up. It’s that type of draft history that makes the Bears worth keeping tabs on, even though they don’t have picks in the first or second round.
Jacobs figures to be the first running back taken in the upcoming draft, but nailing down where he’ll go could be a challenge. NFL.com analyst/Good Morning Football co-host Peter Schrager’s first mock draft had Jacobs going 26th to the Colts. Chris Trapasso’s most recent mock at CBS Sports sends him to the Packers, who own the 12th pick. The Buccaneers (who draft seventh) profiled Jacobs on the team’s site and called him a “possible top-five pick.”
Without diving into a dozen more mock drafts or player write-ups, one can get the sense that there isn’t a firm grasp on where Jacobs will go just yet. But that the Bears have met with Jacobs only adds to the intrigue.
