How to do your own Bears mock draft at home with these popular simulators
How to do your own Bears mock draft at home with these popular simulators originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
With the Super Bowl two weeks away, we’ve got plenty of time to dig into mock drafts before we have another game to watch. Reading mock drafts is a fun way to both explore potential outcomes for each team and to learn about a wide variety of incoming prospects at each position. Going through a mock draft of your own is even more fun.
If you want to play the role of Bears GM Ryan Poles but don’t know where to begin, we’re here to help. These are some of the most popular mock draft simulators you can use, and some of the features that set them apart.
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS
PFF’s popular mock draft tool is the sleekest on the web. The polish is noticeable compared to other tools, as is the availability of some of their stats, like snap counts and player grades. There are sliders you can adjust before entering the draft like “randomness” or “care for positional value” as well to tweak the AI to your liking. Drawbacks include a finicky trade system that doesn’t always work as intended, and the lack of analysis on players this early in the draft cycle.
PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK
Unlike PFF, Pro Football Network’s simulator does a great job of pinging you when an AI GM wants to make a trade for your pick. If you’re interested in making an offer, you’ve got to act fast too, because another AI GM could beat you to it. PFN also offers short blurbs for many of the top prospects already, with links to deeper analysis if you’re interested. However many of the trade offers seemed canned. If you do a few mocks in a row you’ll notice repeats. It can be a little janky if you want to scroll down to offer a trade to a particular team, too.
NFL MOCK DRAFT DATABASE
If you want to redraft past classes, or even look ahead to the 2025 draft, NFL Mock Draft Database is where you want to go. If you want to share your drafts with the world, this platform also has a space where you can “defend your pick” by typing in why you selected a particular player. However, this is by far the slowest of the mock draft tools listed. If you want to go a full seven rounds, it will take some time as all the selections come through compared to other platforms that allow you to essentially zip from pick to pick. The trade AI also feels off at times.
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