In one of the more notable moves made this offseason, the Chicago Bears shipped veteran receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets. Although the Bears still have two established (and large) passing game targets in receiver Alshon Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett, Dane Noble of Windy City Gridiron is addressing the absence of Marshall -- himself a large passing game target -- by taking tight end Maxx Williams out of Minnesota.
39. Bears: Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
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Noble: After getting their much-needed nose tackle in Round 1, the Bears can afford to look on the offensive side of the ball with this pick. Only a redshirt sophomore, it wasn’t immediately known whether Williams would enter this year’s draft, but once the decision was made to go pro, he immediately became the best tight end prospect among his peers.
Chicago has Martellus Bennett under contract for the next two seasons, and last year he compiled just under 1,000 yards and registered six touchdown receptions. So why take a tight end here? Three reasons:
- The Bears recently parted ways with wide receiver Brandon Marshall, leaving only one legitimate threat in the receiving corps: Alshon Jeffery.
- Bennett is not exactly the most stable player on the Bears roster, and he started off last year’s offseason with a suspension for starting a fight with rookie Kyle Fuller.
- At this point in the draft, Williams could be considered the best player available, which has been new general manager Ryan Pace’s stated philosophy over the last few weeks.
Williams is noted for his intense focus and work ethic, and he has strong NFL bloodlines. His father was a former first-round pick, and his grandfather was also an NFL player. The Bears could use another weapon on offense, and Williams would be a solid pick who could provide years’ worth of dividends.
Dan Kadar, SBNation.com: Bennett and Zach Miller are solid tight ends for the Bears, but they don't offer the type of pass catching Williams would. Williams, one of the youngest players in the draft this year, can threaten the seam with his speed and catching. He didn't have overly impressive stats for Minnesota last season, but that's largely due to a run-heavy offense. In the right offense, and Chicago could be one, Williams could threaten for 1,000 yards every season. At No. 40 overall, this is good value.
Dan's Top 5 players remaining
- 30. Paul Dawson, LB, TCU
- 31. Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA
- 32. P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State
- 33. Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
- 38. Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
All picks from this mock draft
Bears picks
- 1-7: Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
- 2-39: Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
Coming up Thursday in our 2015 NFL mock draft: We move into the 40s, with picks coming in from the New York Giants, St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons.
SB Nation presents: Breaking down our latest mock draft