2014 NFL mock draft: Bears select Aaron Donald

With the 14th pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the Chicago Bears select Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald. DLions4Eva is serving as the Bears' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

I decided to pick the top defensive tackle in the draft in Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald for the Bears despite having the top corner, the second best safety and the top middle linebacker left on the board. Defensive tackle, to me, appeared to be the biggest priority other than safety, but not having the top safety on the board led me to take the best player available for a position of need, and that player was Donald.

Donald isn't the biggest defensive tackle in the draft, being just 6'1 and only 285 pounds, but he is one of the strongest (35 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press) and most explosive. He's very good with his hands and has exceptional footwork. He gets under offensive linemen's pads and maneuvers them out of the way with great strength. He can also loop and stunt with a quick and sudden burst to penetrate bigger offensive lines at times despite his smaller size. He's flexible and can drop into coverage, as he is very good at locating the ball.

He had a very productive career at Pittsburgh, with 63 tackles for a loss and 27.5 sacks the last three years as a starter and team captain. The Bears needed some interior defensive line help and Aaron Donald should provide that in a big way, probably as early as this year.

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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.