Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
Now that the dust has settled from the NFL Draft, it seems like the Bears have made a number of trades in recent years that have directly impacted the number of draft picks they have. So now, after all the wheeling and dealing, what picks do they have in 2020?
Aaron L.
Iowa
By my count, the Bears have six picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. They have their own selections in Rounds 2, 5, 6 and 7 as well as a second-rounder they received from the Raiders in the Khalil Mack trade and a sixth-rounder that can become a fifth-rounder they acquired from the Eagles for running back Jordan Howard. The Bears traded their first- and third-round picks to Oakland in the Mack deal and sent their fourth-round choice to the Patriots to move up 14 spots in this year's draft to land running back David Montgomery in the third round.
I read draft profile stating that Emanuel Hall, an undrafted receiver the Bears signed, is a "one trick-pony" who is only adept at catching long passes. What are the team's plans for him?
Roger T.
Franklin, Tennessee
Emanuel Hall was an excellent deep threat at Missouri, averaging 24.8 yards per catch in 2017 and 22.4 in 2018. But general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy both like versatile players that can line up in multiple spots on the field and excel in different aspects of the game. So as you'd expect, the Bears intend to mold Hall into more than just a deep threat. At last weekend's rookie minicamp, Nagy said that Hall "won't be a one-trick pony with us. We're going to expand his route tree." The Bears coach went on to say that he's confident Hall will benefit greatly from working with receivers coach Mike Furrey. Said Nagy: "That's why I feel so good about a guy like Mike Furrey having him in his room all the time because right now, seeing what Mike's doing, the sky's the limit for [Hall]. He has a lot of rare traits."
I'm impressed with how new Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro performed at Florida and have heard that he has a very strong leg. If that's the case, why didn't the Raiders want to keep him.
John P.
Itasca, Illinois
The short answer is that the Raiders feel that they're set at kicker with second-year pro Daniel Carlson after he had an excellent rookie season for them in 2018. But here's the long story about how they reached that point: Eddy Pineiro was on the cusp of beating out veteran Mike Nugent for the Raiders' kicking job as an undrafted rookie last year when Pineiro sustained a groin injury before the season that landed him on injured reserve. Nugent opened the year as Oakland's kicker and made all six of his field-goal attempts in the first three games, but he suffered a season-ending hip injury in Week 3. The Raiders then signed rookie Matt McCrane, who converted 5 of 9 field-goal tries in three games before being released. Oakland followed by inking Daniel Carlson Oct. 23, about a month after the rookie had been waived by the Vikings after he had missed three field-goal attempts, including two in overtime, in a 29-29 tie with the Packers. Carlson made the most of his new life with the Raiders, making 16 of 17 field-goal tries and all 18 of his extra-point attempts in 10 games.
