With the Seventh Pick the Bears Select…

The Chicago Bears with the seventh pick in the 2015 NFL Draft will be looking for an upgrade at the wide receiver position, a true nose guard to fit the 3-4 defense or a new franchise quarterback.

I will rank each player from top to bottom, top being the best pick for Chicago.

1. Amari Cooper

After Chicago traded Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets for a fifth round draft pick, Chicago will be looking to add another playmaker on offense. Amari Cooper would be the perfect replacement for Marshall.

According to NFL.com, Cooper is rated the number one wide receiver in the draft with a rating of 7.13. The Rating system is out of 10 and Pro Bowl-caliber players rank from 7.00-7.49.

Cooper was a winner of the Biletnikoff Award, an award given to the best receiver in college football and also was a finalist for the Heisman trophy for his 2014 junior season.

Cooper reminds me a lot of Kansas City wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Here is how the two receivers match up. These are Maclin’s stats when he competed in the NFL combine in 2009.

Amari Cooper:              Jeremy Maclin:

Height - 6’1’’                 Height – 6’0’’                                     

Weight – 211LBS          Weight – 198LBS

40 Time – 4.42 SEC      40 Time – 4.48 SEC

Each receiver player in 14 games in their final year and their numbers are quite similar. These stats are from sports-reference.com  

Cooper (JR):                  Maclin (SO):

124 Rec                         102 Rec                 

1727 yds                        1260 yds

16 TD’s                         13TD’s

Maclin was also a factor in the running game with 40 rushing attempts for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper only had five rushing attempts for 23 yards.

I think Cooper can be a dynamic player in the NFL and Chicago can’t pass up on taking a wide receiver with his skill set. He can go get the deep ball, make defenders miss in the open field and has great hands.

2. Danny Shelton

With Chicago changing from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense, a nose tackle who can cause havoc in the middle is something Chicago will look to address in the draft. Chicago has plenty of lineman but after losing Stephen Paea, they need to get a nose tackle who can take on two blockers at a time and also cause pressure right up the middle.

Danny Shelton is 6-foot-2-inch and weighs 339 pounds. According to NFL.com, Shelton was tied for second with 34 reps at bench press in the NFL combine.

Chicago has the defense ends/outside linebackers to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks but pressure up the middle disrupts a QB the most. With pressure on the outside QB’s can step up in the pocket, when it comes in the middle QB’s have less mobility.

According to NFL.com, Shelton received a 6.35 rating out of 10 and is projected to be an instant starter.

I believe Shelton can be that force in the middle that takes on double teams and lets the linebackers clean up anything that gets through the line.

Chicago needs to bring back the defense of old and Shelton can be the guy to help do that. 

3. Marcus Mariota

If Marcus Mariota is still on the board and Chicago is on the clock, you draft your new franchise QB.

Mariota has won plenty of awards in his 2014 season at Oregon and they are the following:

·         Heisman Trophy

·         Maxwell Award

·         Davey O’Brien National QB Award

·         Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Mariota also performed exceptionally well at the combine. He was a top performer in the following competitions:

·         40 Yard Dash - Mariota ran a 4.52 sec 40, which was the fastest time by a QB in the draft.

·         Vert Jump - Mariota tied for third with 36.0inches

·         Broad Jump – Mariota tied for third with 121.0inches

·         3 Cone Drill – Mariota placed first with 6.87sec

·         20 Yard Shuffle – Mariota placed in third with 4.11sec

Mariota is an athlete to say the least and I believe the best QB in the draft.

Some say that Mariota is just a system QB but Ryan Pace, Bears GM thinks otherwise.

According to ChicagoBears.com, the team has done a lot of research on Mariota. Pace isn’t afraid of Mariota being a system QB.

I think it’s time for change at the quarterback position.

We know what we get from Cutler each year. Someone who doesn’t show leadership, is turnover prone and a guy who has only beat the Packers once in his career as a Bear.