As fun as it would’ve been to see the Bears make a major move in the pass-rush department at the trade deadline, their instinct to take a seven-round-pick flyer on former No. 32 overall pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was the wise thing to do. Chicago is (hopefully) at the beginning of its ascent into a contender, and mortgaging significant assets on any one player isn’t the play now.

The best NFL teams build through the draft and hit on premium positions that way rather than paying big money or trading for them (or both). And a few recent mock drafts suggest the Bears will waste no time addressing their defensive edge next April. Though it’s hard to know where exactly Chicago will finish in the draft order—they currently sit at No. 18—the prospect focus makes plenty of sense.

In his post-trade-

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