With the 9th overall pick in the 2023 Bleeding Green Nation community mock draft, Chicago Bears GM chewy wellington selects ...

Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – Draft Season!

Last year my approval rating was abysmal. So, before moving on to my pick and the rationale, let me make some base political appeals.

For all my conservative, right wing and libertarian readers – the draft is incredibly anti-capitalist. Here is an essay that explains how the NFL is really a socialist undertaking. Is this guy legit? I have no idea, but it is on the internet, so it must be true.

THE NFL DRAFT — Every year, the weakest teams are given an advantage. Sorta’ like the poor. Losing teams are given the opportunity to make the first picks when drafting new players. This gives bad teams a greater opportunity to improve and perhaps become better. By contrast, the best teams must pick last in the draft. This is the way taxation should work, according to the principles of socialism. Tax the wealthy — they’ll still do fine. At least the poor teams have the chance to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

For all my liberal, left wing and progressive readers – the draft is a racist. Here is an article on that subject. This is also on the internet, so it must also be true.

Hatman said bias “influences every level of the NFL, much like it influences all of sport, and all of HR in hiring for any industry.”

Scouts encounter so many instances where racial stereotypes have been confirmed, they develop mental shortcuts associating blacks with an unstable upbringing and possible marijuana use and whites with partying and alcohol. And if scouts conclude skin color predicts behavioral traits, they could also conclude it predicts playing ability.

“I think overall from what I perceive is that scouts assume that black athletes are better than white athletes,” Hatman said. “You don’t see any white corners, very few white safeties, very few white running backs. But at the same time, you don’t see a whole lot of black quarterbacks that scouts get excited about for the long-term. They’re always pigeonholed as the athletic running type.”

Are you all fired up? Great! Having pandered both to the left and right, I feel I must now be in a good spot to either run away with the approval rating or to be crushed to near zero. So, on to the pick….

At Pick 9, we find the Chicago Bears, having traded back from Pick 1 (Thanks Houston!). By trading back, we, Da Bears, have demonstrated our commitment to Justin Fields. I’m cool with that as I like Fields more as a prospect than any of the QBs on the board this year. We just need to get Justin some help!

Ok Justin, we hear you loud and clear! We’re on it.

Let me gather the brain trust. We need the smartest minds we can find on this problem. No problem, we’ve got God on our side. Who would win in a fight, Ditka or God? Trick question, Ditka is God.

Woah there coach. We’ll try not to take the lord’s name in vain. Now Coach Ditka loves him some defense, but we don’t see the value on the board. The NFL has evolved since he last coached and we need to score some more points. Plus our GM already wasted a whole bunch of money on that side of the ball. Tremaine Edwards – 4 years $72 million and TJ Edwards – 3 years $19.5 million. Yikes! How much money are we sinking into linebackers?! Although if a stud defensive lineman had fallen our way (Carter or Anderson) we’d think about it.

We got anyone else around to help with the pick? Oh yeah, these guys -

They’re hoping we can score 25 a game, or maybe win a squeaker 6 to 4.

The WR core on this team was incredibly weak last year. But, we’ve already shored that up a bit in our Carolina trade by acquiring DJ Moore. Justin now has a true #1 WR. We think about taking a look at the WRs but (a) we don’t have a top ten grade on any WRs in this draft, and (b) we have bigger needs. We’ll look to address that in about the third round. We have our eye on Kayshon Boutte from LSU.

We also thought about Bijan Robinson. That would certainly be a “sexy” pick that would get the fans riled up, but I refuse to invest a top 10 pick in a RB. The shelf life is simply too short, and the value over replacement not significant enough. I get that some believe Bijan is a generational player. Cool. Who is the last superstar RB to propel their team to a Super Bowl? I’ll await your response. We’ll grab a RB in the 6th or 7th. We’ve got our eye on Deric Prince from Tulsa. He’s this year’s Pacheco.

Bears entered the off-season needing help on both lines. They took a swing at McGlinchey but lost out to Denver. The only lineman we’ve signed was Guard Nate Davis. I suppose Tevin Jenkins is going to move to left guard, but we still have a massive hole at tackle. You win the game in the trenches! Protecting Fields is the best way to experience his upside. We need look no further than Philadelphia for proof of that concept! So, offensive line is our biggest need and thank goodness, we’ve got a killer prospect on the board.

With the 9th Pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select Peter Skoronski, Tackle, Northwestern! Skoronski is a beast, our highest rated offensive lineman in the draft, and has the versatility to play both Tackle and/or Guard.

Here’s an excerpt from The Draft Network:

Skoronski’s fundamentals immediately pop to you when you watch him play. He’s got very crisp hands and showcases a variety of pass sets to change the approach of opposing pass rushers. He’s shown the ability throughout the course of his career to take vertical sets and challenge speed or, alternatively, short-set rushers and force them to play through his frame. I’m impressed with Skoronski’s base and ability to stay tethered with a firm anchor in protection and when climbing vertically in the run game. I’m impressed with how fluid Skoronski’s foot adjustments are to avoid a static base that would break down his posture—he’s aware of the ramifications of a dead base and does well to stay dynamic in this regard.

Maybe you prefer video. This one, from ESPN, is entitled, “See for yourself why Peter Skoronski is a top NFL prospect.”

You want a spider graph? We got a spider graph:

You want this coming at you?

I think not. (ps. Does he look a bit like Parks and Rec era Chris Pratt in that photo? Bye bye Lil Sebastian.)

Skoronski is a Park Ridge, Illinois and a Northwestern guy, which makes him a Chicago guy by association. The Bears have been focusing on gathering Chicago guys for reasons that only make sense to Ryan Poles.

“There’s something to it for me,” Ryan Poles told reporters at the NFL owners meetings. “I think when you have pride of your local team that you grew up watching, you knew what this club meant to the city and you saw some good times with some good players, I think you’re a little bit more motivated to perform at a high level and lead, because you’ve seen guys do it at a high level before you. So I always like that aspect. I think it just means a little bit more.”

Who knows if he’s right, but it’s a plus factor, and we need all the help we can get.

Finally, here is a high quality breakdown. If you want a deep dive, don’t rely on a FanPost. Take a look at this. Set aside 19 minutes to watch.

Peter Skoronski, welcome to Chicago. Italian beef sandwiches on us!

2023 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Panthers (pheebthegoose): QB Bryce Young
2) Texans (Phoenix X Minimus): QB C.J. Stroud
3) Cardinals (alwaysaphillyfan): EDGE Will Anderson
4) Colts (eaglenomics): QB Anthony Richardson
5) Seahawks (The Player Formerly Known as Mousecop): DT Jalen Carter
6) Lions (Sam2TheMaximum): DE Tyree Wilson
7) Raiders (joey2arms): OT Paris Johnson Jr.
8) Falcons (Kephas): CB Christian Gonzalez
9) Bears (chewy wellington): OT Peter Skoronski
10) Eagles (Philly21)
11) Titans (RachAttack)
12) Texans (Domonate)
13) Jets (JawnJam)
14) Patriots (Amish Eagle Lion)
15) Packers (bdawk4ever)
16) Commanders (the dog did it)
17) Steelers (Dr.MidnightGreen)
18) Lions (DreadPirateRocco)
19) Buccaneers (Neil Dutton)
20) Seahawks (wardbell92)
21) Chargers (Brendanekstrom)
22) Ravens (Rollinpin)
23) Vikings (FierceDisc65)
24) Jaguars (dkays)
25) Giants (roberticus01)
26) Cowboys (EHyungNim)
27) Bills (EHyungNim)
28) Bengals (mainmanham)
29) Saints (RiverCityEagle)
30) Eagles (ablesser88)
31) Chiefs (Hoosinole)

Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think should be selected in the 2023 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft.

1) Panthers: QB C.J. Stroud
2) Texans: QB Bryce Young
3) Cardinals: EDGE Will Anderson
4) Colts: QB Anthony Richardson
5) Seahawks: DT Jalen Carter
6) Lions: DE Tyree Wilson
7) Raiders: OT Paris Johnson Jr.
8) Falcons: CB Christian Gonzalez
9) Bears: