The Chicago Bears were a bit shorthanded in the 2020 NFL Draft as they didn’t have a first-round pick. As you might recall, their first-round pick went to the Las Vegas Raiders as part of the Khalil Mack deal.
While we know what the critics seem to think about the Bears draft haul – there’s countless “draft grades” story out there in the mainstream media – let’s take a look at what the oddsmakers are say. The Chicago Bears odds to win the Super Bowl, to win their division and their regular season win total have been updated. Let’s see how the betting lines have changed.
Bears Draft Haul
Draft picks: TE Cole Kmet, CB Jaylon Johnson, DE Trevis Gipson, CB Kindle Vildor, WR Darnell Mooney, G Arlington Hambright, OT Lachavious Simmons
The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick, so their first selection at the 2020 NFL Draft was in the second round at No. 43. That player turned out to be Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet, who is a talented tight end. There’s no question that the Bears have needed to improve the quality at the position in recent years but looking at it from a quantity perspective, the Bears have moved into the realm of the absurd. We’re still very early in the offseason but this is now the Bears full list of tight ends on the roster:
Ben Braunecker
Darion Clark
Jimmy Graham
Demetrius Harris
J.P. Holtz
Jesper Horsted
Cole Kmet
Eric Saubert
Adam Shaheen
Kmet is from Chicago and might immediately be the team’s most talented player at the position. At any rate, it seems a bit bizarre. Maybe a corner back like Trevon Diggs or a wide receiver like Denzel Mims would have plugged some other holes on the roster.
Other than that, the Bears did the best with what they could. Johnson should bolster the secondary and some scouts felt that Gipson and Vildor were both underrated. This draft will mostly come down to what Kmet and Johnson contribute this year.
Bears Super Bowl Odds
The Bears Super Bowl odds went virtually unchanged. We’ve seen the lines come back up on the board after the 2020 NFL Draft and the Bears are anywhere from as long as 50/1 at BetOnline all the way down to 35/1 when we did a MyBookie review of their odds.
On one hand, we really didn’t expect the Bears odds to shift a lot at the NFL Draft but the fact that they didn’t go up or down indicates that the oddsmakers opinion of this team didn’t really change. The same goes for their odds to win the NFC. They were at 20/1 and still are.
Bears Odds To Win NFC North
The Bears odds to win the NFC North slightly ticked down to +275 from +300, which means the oddsmakers think they now have a better chance of winning the division than before the draft. However, given that their Super Bowl futures and NFC odds didn’t change, this is more likely a comment on what happened with the other teams at the 2020 NFL Draft.
Of course, one of the most panned draft classes of 2020 was the Green Bay Packers, were had previously been at +100 to win the NFC North. They are now at +140, which indicates that the oddsmakers think they have less of a chance to win the division now. The Packers are still favored but the other teams have closed the gap.
The issue here is that the Packers bizarrely traded up to draft a quarterback in the first round, even though they have Aaron Rodgers under center. Is Rodgers past his prime? It would appear so. Is he still one of the better starting quarterbacks in the league? Most would say ‘yes’.
What makes the Packers plans to replace him even more bizarre is that they were 13-3 last season and played in the NFC Championship Game. A team like that might only be a piece or two away from getting to the Super Bowl but instead of drafting a wide receiver or two – the most glaring weakness on offense – the Packers went for a backup quarterback, who likely won’t have much of an impact on the 2020 season. Making matters worse, the Packers spent their second-round pick on a backup running back even though Aaron Jones is fresh off a 1084-yard season with 16 touchdowns. It wasn’t exactly a position of need. In the third round, the Packers got a tight end/fullback who isn’t exactly rated highly. Overall, their draft looks like a mess.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions seem to have helped themselves quite a bit. The Vikings found a replacement for Stefon Diggs by drafting Justin Jefferson. Then they picked up a pair of cornerbacks and found help for the offensive line. They had one of the best drafts out there. As for the Lions, they’re in the same boat. They not only found a replacement for cornerback Darius Slay (Jeffrey Okudah), who they traded away to the Philadelphia Eagles, they also got help for the offensive line (Jonah Jackson, Logan Steinberg), linebacking corps (Julian Okwara) and selected the best receiving running back in D’Andre Swift. Jackson was a particularly good find as he was viewed as a first-round pick by some by he ended up lasting until the third round.
In regards to the Bears, their odds shortened to win the division because the Packers odds lengthened. The Packers are now at +140 to win the NFC North while the Vikings are at +180, the Bears are at +275 and the Lions are at +700.