Bears Disrespected by Mel Kiper's NFL Draft Grade

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

While the Chicago Bears did not own a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, they did end up adding 11 new faces to the roster in the last six rounds. Talented prospects on both sides of the football were selected, yet the team is still being disrespected when it comes to Mel Kiper's NFL Draft grades.

Chicago Bears NFL Draft

The Bears were on of 10 teams to be handed a B- and only two other teams ended up with worse grades. Both the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys checked in with a C+. Nevertheless, Kiper cited the lack of additional help for quarterback Justin Fields as the main reason for the poor grade.

Chicago used both of their second-round picks to improve a secondary that finished outside the top 10 in pass defense DVOA rating last season. Kiper even explained how he expects both cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker to compete for starting jobs during training camp.

The problem Kiper had with the Bears' efforts was the fact that they passed on multiple wide receivers and offensive tackles early on. They waited until the third round to give Fields a new weapon in Tennessee's Velus Jones Jr., a player that Kiper sees as a "little limited" coming into the league.

The Bears' strategy of taking late-round fliers on OTs instead of paying up for one capable of starting right away isn't something Kiper sees going well, either. It'll be interesting to see if Chicago is able to prove Kiper wrong next season or if the team will look back at this draft class with a few regrets.

For now, the Bears have odds set at +10000 to win Super Bowl 57, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.