Bears select Jalen Carter in latest NFL.com mock draft

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Analysts love the Chicago Bears selecting Jalen Carter.

When the offseason started, many early mock drafts had the Bears drafting Carter with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Bears have since traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers, moving back to No. 9. And Jalen Carter's draft stock has slid after he pled no contest to two misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and racing, in connection with a deadly car crash that killed one of Carter’s teammates and team staffer.

Then showed up to his Pro Day significantly heavier than he was when he weighed in at the NFL Combine, and had to cut his Pro Day short because he was too winded to complete all his drills.

All of that has raised questions but NFL Draft prognosticators still have Carter going to the Bears at No. 9.

Most recently, Chad Reuter has the Bears picking Carter at No. 9 in his latest mock draft for NFL.com.

"The Bears need playmakers in the middle of their defense, and Carter's value is too good to pass up at this point in the draft," Reuter wrote.

Hard to argue with that. The Bears let Akiem Hicks leave and traded away Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn.

There was some belief that the Bears might sign a premier defensive lineman in free agency to take Carter out of the mix, but they didn't.

They also didn't sign a marquee offensive tackle to protect quarterback Justin Fields, leaving that as another critical area of need.

But some reports named the Bears as one of three teams likely to take Carter, and there was strong feeling he wouldn't slide out of the top-10. Carter also isn't meeting with teams outside the top-10 because his agent firmly believes he won't fall that far.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles vowed to do his due diligence on Carter.

“Like the combine, it’s a collection of information," Poles said last month about meeting with Carter. "We got some there. We got more at the pro day. We’ll bring him, talk to him and get to know him even better.

The Bears met with Carter earlier this week.

In the second round, Reuter has the Bears taking Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in with the 53rd pick in the draft. The Bears drafted CB Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the 61st pick, which the Bears got from the Carolina Panthers in the trade of the No. 1 overall pick, Chicago goes offense again with SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice.

With the first pick in the third round, Reuter has the Bears selecting TCU offensive guard Steve Avila. Then with the first pick in Round 4, the Bears select his teammate, running back Kendre Miller.

Later in the fourth round, Reuter has the Bears adding some pass rush help by selecting Auburn's Colby Wooden.

Here are all of Reuter's picks for the Bears.

9. Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
53. Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami (Fl.)
61. Rashee Rice, WR, SMU
64. Steve Avila, OG, TCU
65. Kendre Miller, RB, TCU
133. Colby Wooden, EDGE, Auburn

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