Bears land most top-100 players from Brugler's 'Beast' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

If 2022 was all about trimming the Bears roster down to identify cornerstone players moving forward and setting the team up for future acquisitions, then 2023 is all about beginning the rebuild in earnest. Ryan Poles began that process by trading for DJ Moore and signing players like Tremaine Edmunds, Nate Davis and TJ Walker in free agency. The bulk of the work took place over the weekend however, when the Bears added 10 players in the 2023 NFL Draft. No team is ever going to hit on 100% of their picks, and not every pick is going to earn rave reviews from fans and draft pundits. But one college scouting expert thinks Poles did a phenomenal job.

Dane Brugler ranked the Bears as having the fifth-best draft in the NFL this year. Brugler is known for putting together one of, if not the single most comprehensive scouting guide together each year. It’s a mammoth document called “The Beast,” and this year it featured 401 scouting reports and 1,893 player rankings. So Brugler is familiar with lots and lots of players, and he likes what the Bears did with their top selections.

“Darnell Wright is a plug-and-play right tackle and will help stabilize the offensive line,” Brugler said. “The two defensive tackles Chicago took on Day 2 also will pay immediate dividends.”

RELATED: Final grades for Bears 2023 draft class

Brugler’s favorite pick however, was Tyler Scott. He had Scott ranked as a top-50 player, yet the Bears were able to acquire him with the No. 133 overall pick.

“A former high school option running back, (Scott) transitioned to wide receiver for the Bearcats and took a big jump on his 2022 tape,”  Brugler said. “Scott has 4.3 speed, surprising ball skills and could take over the Darnell Mooney role in the future.”

Further, Brugler noted that the Bears finished the draft with six players he had ranked as top-100 players. That was tied for most in the NFL, along with the Steelers. Here’s the list of those top-100 players, and where exactly they landed on Brugler’s list:

No. 24: Darnell Wright
No. 48: Tyler Scott
No. 55: Gervon Dexter Sr.
No. 69: Tyrique Stevenson
No. 83: Zacch Pickens
No. 91: Roschon Johnson

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