I’ll start this article off by clarifying that, just because a player is from Illinois, they aren’t more or less deserving of being Bears targets.
Nonetheless, it’s still a fun story to see a collegiate prospect get drafted by his hometown team. Chicago got to experience that firsthand with Cole Kmet in 2020, with the Barrington native’s family showing plenty of excitement, especially after he was selected by his favorite team growing up.
Illinois high school football has grown in recent years, and there are a handful of prospects from the Chicago area who could be players worth taking at various points in the 2022 NFL Draft.