Snapshots gathered from spring foraging around Chicago outdoors and a smattering of sage advice; plus Wild Things and the Stray Cast.

‘Did any of the neighbors see?’’ my wife asked.

In a yellow slicker, I had picked young dandelions from our lawn in the rain this month, then prepared them.

I’ve had an interesting spring foraging or, more accurately, wandering around.

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On Saturday, I wandered around a favorite morel-hunting area. There were no morels, despite friends sending photos of good finds.

But mayapples caught my eye. They had grown much in two weeks, some nearing a foot high. I bent to see downy yellow violet, violets and spring beauty up close.

Dale Bowman

As I age, I appreciate flora more. In younger days, it was more fauna.

Two weekends before, I wandered the same spot. Too early and too dry, though I found blooming spring beauty and large-flowered bellwort along with what were then much smaller mayapples.

Remember that morel hunting at Illinois Department of Natural Resources sites that offer spring turkey hunting (through May 13 in the north) may not begin until 1 p.m. or later. Morel hunting is allowed at many IDNR sites but not at virtually all nature preserves, park districts and forest-preserve districts.

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In between morel hunting, I wandered with Bob Siegerdt and Karen Franke. At the beginning of the pandemic, Franke came to a public area to get out for sanity and came across a sea of plants she wasn’t sure of.

A guy happened to pass and said, ‘‘Oh, ramps.’’

Ramps (wild leeks) are one of those things where spots are kept secret.

Siegerdt found them again this spring, then led us on a two-mile tour of the site, where harvesting is not allowed.

Dale Bowman

After they showed me the ramps, I focused on buttercups, white fawn lily (or white trout lily) and trillium, something Franke understood.

Foraging for ramps has earned a deserved bad reputation because some foragers spade up plants illegally on public land. Harvesting of ramps is primarily done on private land.

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The dandelion recipe came from Phil Willink, who advised boiling the dandelions, draining them, then sauteing them in olive oil with garlic and onion. The recipe was adapted from Euell Gibbons.

When younger, I had horrific encounters with dandelions (cooked and as homemade wine), likely because they were too old and bitter. So I was leery but trusted Willink, a fish researcher with the Illinois Endangered Species Board.

Time is key.

‘‘If the plant has flowered or is even forming a stalk, then it is getting late,’’ Willink messaged.

He only uses plants without buds or with the buds still ‘‘embedded in the rosette of leaves.’’ He said to focus on shaded spots or north sides of buildings, where plants are delayed slightly.

‘‘The best dandelion greens I have ever had were in a fancy restaurant in Chicago’s Greektown!’’ Willink noted. ‘‘Wish I knew their recipe. Cannot remember which restaurant now.’’

If the lawn is doused in chemicals, don’t eat the dandelions.

Illinois hunting

Friday is the deadline for the first application period for firearm deer permits.

Wild things

On Sunday, Leslie Borns reported that Mark Kolasa had spotted a piping plover at Montrose Beach. The plover appeared to be the world-famous Rose.

Stray cast

The subtle catch in Lake Street Dive singer Rachael Price’s voice sounds how a crankbait ticking weed tops feels.

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This year’s Black Creativity is a testament to the artists and program leaders who didn’t give up on shining a spotlight on Black art.

At this year’s “Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition,” two works by artist Lexus Giles—titled She’s Healed and She is Me—invite visitors into the gallery that houses much of the exhibition’s sculptures. “I’m a storyteller,” Giles says.…Read More

District Attorney Andrew Womble told a judge at a hearing Wednesday that he viewed body camera video and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Andrew Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — A North Carolina prosecutor says that a Black man killed by deputies hit law enforcement officers with his car before they opened fire.

District Attorney Andrew Womble told a judge at a hearing Wednesday that he viewed body camera video and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Andrew Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started.

Womble said the video shows that Brown’s car made contact with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard on the video.

“As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,” he said, adding that the car stops again. “The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.”

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The president will make his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators due to coronavirus restrictions and in a U.S. Capitol still surrounded by black fencing after insurrectionists protesting his election occupied the very dais where he will stand.

WASHINGTON — Marking his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden will use his first joint address to Congress to pitch a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform the role government plays in American life.

Biden will make his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators due to coronavirus restrictions and in a U.S. Capitol still surrounded by black fencing after insurrectionists protesting his election occupied the very dais where he will stand.

In the nationally televised ritual of a president standing before Congress, Biden will lay out a sweeping proposal for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. His ideas target frailties that were uncovered by the pandemic, and he will make the case that economic growth would best come from taxing the rich to help the middle class and the poor.

For Biden, whose moment has been nearly a half century in the making, his speech will also provide an update on progress in combating the COVID-19 crisis he was elected to tame, showcasing hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks delivered to help offset the devastation wrought by a virus that has killed more than 573,000 people in the United States. He will also champion his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a staggering figure to be financed by higher taxes on corporations.

Seizing an opportunity born of calamity, Biden has embraced momentous action over incremental progress. But he will be forced to thread the needle between Republicans who cry government overreach and some Democrats who fear he won’t go big enough.

The Democratic president’s strategy is to sidestep the polarization and make his appeal directly to voters. His prime-time speech will underscore a trio of central campaign promises: to manage the deadly pandemic, to turn down the tension in Washington and to restore faith in government as an effective force for good.

“He is a big-government Democrat, and he has not been at all reluctant to propose big initiatives in a response to a national crisis,” said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University presidential historian.

No American politician has more familiarity with the presidential address to Congress than Biden. He spent three decades in the audience as a senator and eight years as vice president seated behind President Barack Obama during the annual address.

But this year’s scene at the front of the House chamber will have a historic look: For the first time, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, will be seated behind the chief executive for the speech. And she will be seated next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Biden knows that most of those seated before him have, as he did, looked at the president and envisioned themselves one day in his place. He has heard the memorable phrases and the long list of promises — often unmet — and seen the partisan reactions intensify as the years have hurried by.

He chose to delay this speech, typically given in the afterglow of a presidential inaugural. In doing so, he gave himself the chance to not simply speak of the pain of the COVID-19 crisis but also to talk about tangible progress.

The setting will be unlike for any of his predecessors, with members of Congress spread out and many Republicans citing “scheduling conflicts” to stay away. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Biden’s presidency “can best be described as the Biden bait and switch.”

“President Biden ran as a moderate, but I’m hard pressed to think of anything at all that he’s done so far that would indicate some degree of moderation,” McConnell said.

Yet the desire for swift action is born from political necessity. Biden understands that the time for passing his agenda could be perilously short given that presidents’ parties historically lose congressional seats in the midterm elections, less than two years away. The Democrats’ margins are already razor-thin.

Biden will talk to Congress amid the start of a potentially booming recovery, one that could determine whether the U.S. economy can again fire on all cylinders after a morale-crushing pandemic with economic shock waves that could linger for years.

He will speak against a backdrop of the weakening but still lethal pandemic, staggering unemployment and a roiling debate about police violence against Blacks. Biden will also use his address to touch on the broader national reckoning over race in America, and to call on Congress to act on prescription drug pricing, gun control and modernizing the nation’s immigration system.

The president, who has been working on the speech for weeks, was expected to rehearse it repeatedly on Wednesday, including a full run-through at the White House before the short, ceremonial drive up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol.

In his first three months in office, Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill — passed without a single GOP vote — and has shepherded direct payments of $1,400 per person to more than 160 million households. Hundreds of billions of dollars in aid will soon arrive for state and local governments, enough money that overall U.S. growth this year could eclipse 6% — a level not seen since 1984. Administration officials are betting that it will be enough to bring back all 8.4 million jobs lost to the pandemic by next year.

Biden’s speech is about how to sustain those gains once the debt-financed boost fades. Federal Reserve estimates suggest that the economy will slip to more modest 1.8% growth after at least two years of robust gains, potentially leaving the Biden era with some happy memories but few enduring legacies.

New in his Wednesday speech is a “families” plan that could cement his legacy with $1.8 trillion worth of spending over 10 years.

A significant amount would ensure that eligible families receive at least $250 monthly per child through 2025, extending the enhanced tax credit that was part of Biden’s COVID-19 aid. There would be $200 billion for free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. Another $225 billion would pay for subsidized child care and invest in child care workers.

A national paid family and medical leave program would be started at a cost of $225 billion. Another $200 billion would go to permanently reduce health insurance premiums for people who receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

For $109 billion in federal money, people could attend community college tuition-free for two years. There would be $85 billion for Pell Grants to help more people afford higher education. Historically Black and tribal institutions would be eligible to receive $46 billion.

Funding all of this would be a series of tax increases on the wealthy that would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade.

Biden wants to boost IRS enforcement and require disclosures by financial institutions, specifically targeting the rich. The White House estimates that would bring in $700 billion over 10 years. He would raise the top tax rate on the most affluent families from 37% to 39.6%. People earning in excess of $1 million a year would see their rate on capital gains — the profits from a sale of a stock or home — nearly double from 20% to 39.6%, which would mean the wealthiest Americans could no longer pay at a lower rate than many families who identify as middle class.

Republican lawmakers in Congress so far have balked at the price tag of both the “families” plan and infrastructure package, complicating the chances of passage in a deeply divided Washington.

The president has drawn a firm line that no household earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes, a line that would both broaden the definition of the middle class and clearly delineate just how extreme inequality has become.

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Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Michael Tackett contributed to this report.

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Births have fallen dramatically in many states during the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Associated Press analysis of preliminary data from half the country.

NEW YORK — When most of the U.S. went into lockdown over a year ago, some speculated that confining couples to their homes — with little to entertain them beyond Netflix — would lead to a lot of baby-making. But the statistics suggest the opposite happened.

Births have fallen dramatically in many states during the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Associated Press analysis of preliminary data from half the country.

The COVID-19 baby boom appears to be a baby bust.

Nationally, even before the epidemic, the number of babies born in the U.S. was falling, dropping by less than 1% a year over the past decade as many women postponed motherhood and had smaller families.

But data from 25 states suggests a much steeper decline in 2020 and into 2021, as the virus upended society and killed over a half-million Americans.

Births for all of 2020 were down 4.3% from 2019, the data indicates. More tellingly, births in December 2020 and in January and February 2021 — nine months or more after the spring 2020 lockdowns — were down 6.5%, 9.3% and 10% respectively, compared with the same months a year earlier.

December, January and February together had about 41,000 fewer births than the same three-month span a year earlier. That’s an 8% decline.

“When there’s a crisis, I don’t think people are thinking about reproduction,” said Dr. John Santelli, a Columbia University professor of population and family health who reviewed the AP’s analysis.

The analysis included 24 states that provided data on births to residents. Joining them in the analysis was California, the most populous state, which provided data on all births that happened in the state, including among visitors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to provide a national picture later this year. But the data for the 25 states is not expected to change substantially; preliminary birth numbers usually end up being pretty close to the final counts, experts say.

The AP’s findings echo projections by researchers at the Brookings Institution and elsewhere, who have predicted a sizable drop in births this year.

“The widespread consensus is there is going to be a decline,” said Hans-Peter Kohler, a University of Pennsylvania researcher who focuses on fertility and health.

It didn’t look that way to some around March 2020, when much of America was cooped up inside. Some figured couples had more time together and some women might find it harder to run out and get birth control, leading to at least a small uptick in births.

For Bryan and Katie Basamanowicz, it was more complicated than that.

The couple had planned to try to have a baby last summer to provide their son, Simon, with a younger sibling, but then came COVID-19 and the lockdown.

For a time “it was so intense and scary” that the couple thought they would have to put off trying to conceive, said Bryan, 39, a managing editor at a small publishing house who lives in Ventura, California.

But then a lull occurred in the early summer, as the first wave of COVID-19 illnesses waned and lockdowns were eased. The couple decided to try after all. Then cases started surging again.

“We decided: ‘Let’s put this on hold,’” said Katie, a 32-year-old teacher. But it turned out to be too late: A pregnancy test came back positive in early July. “We were already pregnant,” she said.

Fritz Basamanowicz was born last month, on March 6. The pregnancy was a worry-filled experience because expectant mothers run a greater risk of severe illness from the virus.

“I’m very thankful that we made it through,” Katie said.

New York, the deadly epicenter of the U.S. outbreak in the spring of 2020, was not part of the analysis. Its Health Department said the figures were not available.

A majority of the babies born in 2020 were, of course, conceived in 2019, before the virus took hold in the U.S., so the numbers partly reflect the pre-existing downward trend.

But births in December 2020 declined in 23 of the 25 states from the same month a year earlier, the exceptions being Alaska and Wyoming. They dropped about 11% in Massachusetts and Virginia; 10% in California; and 7% in Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Nevada.

Declines were even more dramatic in January 2021 in many of the 25 states.

Still, Emily Newell, 31, who lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband, Ben Keller, said she witnessed the opposite phenomenon during the outbreak: “We know so many people who decided to have kids.”

The couple married in January 2020 and were eventually forced to work from home. They saw a certain appeal in going through a pregnancy with both partners at home, said Newell, a 31-year-old assistant professor of sports management at the University of Southern Maine.

“It gives us a little more flexibility in terms of care” for the baby, she said.

Their son, Manuel, was born two months ago.

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The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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“I felt like it should have been 20 minutes,” Brandon Mitchell, 31, said of the deliberations, which led to Chauvin’s conviction on all counts.

MINNEAPOLIS — A juror who cast one of the unanimous votes to convict a white former Minneapolis police officer of killing George Floyd said deliberations were primarily spent trying to convince one person who was uncertain about part of the jury instructions.

Brandon Mitchell is the first juror that deliberated in Derek Chauvin’s trial to talk publicly about his experience. An alternate juror who was dismissed before deliberations, Lisa Christensen, spoke to reporters last week, saying she would have voted to convict Chauvin.

“I felt like it should have been 20 minutes,” Mitchell, 31, said of the deliberations, which led to Chauvin’s conviction April 20 on all counts: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Mitchell, who is Black, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that much of the time in deliberations was spent going over terminology and “making sure we understood what exactly was being asked.” The identities of jurors and alternates are protected under a judge’s order.

“I think the one juror that was kind of — I wouldn’t say slowing us down — but was being delicate with the process, more so, was just kind of hung up with a few words in the instructions. They wanted to make sure they got it right,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who first shared his story with gospel artist Erica Campbell on her podcast, wrote in his jury questionnaire he wanted to serve as a juror “because of all the protests and everything that happened after the event. This is the most historic case of my lifetime, and I would love to be a part of it.”

Mitchell speculated that he was picked for the jury because he was mild mannered. He said the images during the trial trouble him.

“It was just dark. It felt like every day was a funeral and watching someone die every day,” Mitchell told CNN. “It was tense every day. I wasn’t nervous, but it was stressful. It was a lot of pressure.”

Prosecutors said Chauvin pinned Floyd, a Black man, to the pavement outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis for 9 minutes, 29 seconds on May 25. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at the store. Three other officers, since fired, face trial in August.

Prosecutors played a wide range of videos for the jury, including teenager Darnella Frazier’s bystander video that was seen worldwide in the hours after Floyd’s death. That video and the officers’ body camera video captured bystanders shouting at Chauvin and the other officers to get off Floyd, warning that they were cutting off his breathing and asking them to check for a pulse.

Mitchell told “Good Morning America” that he didn’t think the jury was affected by tensions in Minneapolis or concerns about what effect their verdicts would have. Floyd’s death triggered worldwide protests, violence at times and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

“We weren’t watching the news, so we don’t know what was going on. We were really just locked in on the case. There was so much stress coming through the case. Those things are so secondary because you’re literally, throughout the trial you’re watching someone die on a daily basis. That stress alone is enough to take your mind away from whatever’s going on outside of the four walls of the courtroom,” he said.

Mitchell also said he thought Chauvin hurt himself by choosing not to testify.

“It probably was to his detriment that he didn’t take the stand because people were curious on what his thoughts were throughout the entire incident,” he said.

In the wake of the attention and weighty deliberations, Mitchell said he has been decompressing.

“I’m starting to feel like the weight is lifted off my shoulders now,” Mitchell told Campbell.

Mitchell also said he doesn’t worry about his safety for breaking his silence.

“I’m a person that kind of thrives in the positives. So I’m not too much concerned about that. Nor do I dwell on negativity,” he told “CBS This Morning.”

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The decision marked the U.S. government’s latest step toward normalcy, but came as much of the country already had moved on from mask rules.

In the small Nebraska town of Oxford, the school district dropped its mask mandate last month in what was a fairly straight-forward decision: Cases were down dramatically, and it didn’t bother local officials that their move flouted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Those federal mask guidelines just didn’t seem to fit local conditions well in the town of about 800 people where hardly anyone wears a mask.

“We haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to what is going on at the federal level — mainly what is coming out through the state,” Southern Valley Superintendent Bryce Jorgensen said. “You just can’t compare Chicago to Oxford, Nebraska. Things are just different.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers. And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some situations, too.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of one another.

The decision marked the U.S. government’s latest step toward normalcy, but came as much of the country already had moved on from mask rules. The CDC essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing.

On the same day the CDC updated its guidance, Louisiana’s governor partially lifted the state’s mask mandate, the first Democratic governor to make such a move during Joe Biden’s presidency. Elsewhere, local government leaders have been doing away with mask rules, and in many states, face coverings are an infrequent sight indoors, let alone outside.

In Montgomery, Alabama, 73-year-old Judy Adams said she hasn’t worn a mask outside since the early days of the pandemic a year ago and only puts them on inside when stores mandate them. Alabama had a statewide mask mandate until earlier this month, when the governor let it expire.

“I think it’s ridiculous, because it’s not helping,” she said of mask rules. “This is about control and fear. It ain’t about nothing but control and fear.”

Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has struggled to accomplish consistency in public health measures from state to state. The CDC has issued guidelines on masks, social distancing, travel and other activities but it’s up to governors on whether to adhere to the measures. Some states never had mask mandates, while others still have them on the books.

“Today, I hope, is a day when we can take another step back to the normalcy of before,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. “Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time telling Americans what you can’t do. Today, I am going to tell you some of the things you can do, if you are fully vaccinated.”

The CDC says that, whether they are fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. An unvaccinated person can also go maskless to a small outdoor gathering with fully vaccinated people.

But unvaccinated people — defined as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at small outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people, the CDC says. They also should keep their faces covered when dining at outdoor restaurants with friends from multiple households.

And everyone, fully vaccinated or not, should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.

The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, gyms, museums and movie theaters, saying that is still the safer course even for vaccinated people.

The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults — or about 140 million people — have received at least one dose of vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.

Walensky said the decision was driven by rising vaccination numbers; declines in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths; and research showing that less than 10% of documented instances of transmission of the virus happened outdoors.

The new guidance represents another carefully calibrated step on the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 570,000 people in U.S.

In Plano, Texas, Rob Webster, a 49-year-old church employee, said the new guidelines sound “reasonable” but he has some reservations.

“My only concern is that there are so many people who want to buck the system anyway,” said Webster, communications director at Custer Road United Methodist Church, which requires masks on church property, including for outdoor youth group meetings.

“So I don’t know if I was around a group of people who weren’t wearing masks, are they really vaccinated? … It makes me maybe a little more fearful and less trusting of the people around me.”

In the Nebraska school district, Superintendent Jorgensen said the district decided to eliminate its mask rule based on conditions in the area and in the state, which never had a statewide mask mandate.

The district did see an elevated risk of the virus last fall when cases statewide were peaking, but there hasn’t been a single case in the district since January and fewer than a dozen cases had been reported in the two counties around the district when they made the decision.

Jorgensen said the district is still being careful and will require students to quarantine for 10 days if they test positive for the virus, but the mask mandate didn’t seem necessary anymore.

“It’s not like we’ve totally thrown everything out the window. We still are closely watching it and monitoring every situation we can. But it just seems that those seem a little bit extreme,” Jorgensen said of the federal mask recommendations. “I think we have people here who can make some good local decisions, so that’s why we did it the way we did it.”

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Associated Press Writer John Zenor contributed to this report. The AP Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Part Southern, part Inland North, the Black Chicago dialect captures the history of the city since the Great MigrationRead More

NFL draft week is finally here! For many football fans around the league, this time of year can bring a wide range of emotions. If you’re a fan of any of the best teams in the league, you might be wondering what talent your team can find with their later picks as they look to build on their success. But, if you cheer for a bad team with a high draft pick, you’ll either be nervous or excited with no in-between. And really, it all comes down to the faith you have in your team’s front office staff for the 2021 NFL draft.

For us Chicago Bears fans, it’s safe to say that the overall faith in the organization to make the right moves come draft night has dwindled slightly. The big reason for this comes from 2017 draft night when the Bears traded up to draft Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick. There were many groans and sighs with that choice, and some say you can still hear those groans echo through Halas Hall if it’s quiet enough. Regardless of how you feel about Pace and Nagy leading this Bears draft, they’re going to do what they think is best for this team. And we’ll be right here rooting for them along the way, but before they can make their picks, let’s dive into a quick Chicago Bears mock draft!

2021 NFL Mock Draft: Chicago Bears

In this year’s NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears have eight picks in all. Round 1 with pick 20, round 2 with pick 52, round 3 with pick 83, round 5 with pick 164, and round 6 with picks 204, 208, 221, and 228. 

The 20th draft pick is the highest first round pick we’ve had since Pace has been a GM. It also happens to be his first one outside the top 10 since coming to Chicago. In Ryan Pace’s pre-draft press conference, he made one thing clear about this pick: the team could move up, down, or stay put. It truly is all up in the air.

Round 1, Pick 20

We can’t predict if the Bears will stay at 20. But, we’d like to think we have a good idea at what position they’ll be going for. The needs for this team are clear, a future quarterback, rebuilding the o-line, and adding pieces on both sides of the ball. With that, we like to think that the Bears either go quarterback, cornerback, or maybe wide receiver at this spot. The wide receiver class in this year’s draft runs deep, so the team shouldn’t have trouble finding talent with a later pick. As for cornerbacks, there is some premium talent Jaycee Horn, Caleb Farley, or even Greg Newsome II. The Bears shouldn’t draft up if they go with this position, but we can see them leaning this way as they look to replace Kyle Fuller this year. Should the Bears go with a quarterback at this spot, they’ll most likely miss out on guys like Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Zach Wilson. This leaves them with Trey Lance or Mac Jones as the possible remaining top talent. All options are on the table, and if we have to pick, we’re going with cornerback Greg Newsome II out of Northwestern.

Round 2, Pick 52

After going with a cornerback in the first round of our mock draft, the Bears will certainly look to add something on the offensive side of the ball. But whether it’s a quarterback or offensive lineman remains to be seen. If we had a say in it, we’d like to think they’d look towards building up that offensive line. The area is one of the most important pieces of success for any football team. It also happens to be one that Chicago has struggled with recently. They won’t be able to develop any future QB without a line to protect him, so this is where we think they go. With the 52nd pick in our 2021 NFL mock draft, the Chicago Bears select Jalen Mayfield from the University of Michigan.

Round 3, Pick 83

The final pick we’ll be predicting in our mock draft is the Chicago Bears 83 pick in the third round. They went cornerback and offensive line in our first two mock rounds. And now they’ll be looking to add another weapon on offense. Based on the picks of Cole Kmet and David Montgomery in years past, we’ll be taking our mock pick to the wide receivers. This draft class is particularly loaded at this position, and things continue to look promising when it comes to the later rounds. Because of this, our mock pick for the Bears in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft is WR Nico Collins, another Michigan alumni.

No matter how this draft plays out for the Bears, they’re almost certain to be in a better position for the future after it concludes. No one can confidently pick who Pace & Nagy will pick in round one, and we’re pretty sure they don’t know which direction they’re going either. It’ll all come down to the moment and the picks beforehand, and we’ll be locked in to all the action come draft night on Thursday, April 29!

The post 2021 NFL Mock Draft: Predicting The Bears Moves appeared first on UrbanMatter.

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The Dinger’s Crew sit down for a chat with Joe Kilgallon of True Blue Cubs and discuss: surviving Cubs fan guilt, putting the happiness back into baseball, and RoboCop…err…RoboUmps.

The post Dingers: A Chicago Cubs Podcast; Episode 37: Baseball is FUN first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More