Chicago Bears 2017 draft position profiles: Offensive linemen

Zach Banner, USC (6-foot-9, 360 pounds)

Man, this kid is big. He is so big he could block the sun. He has the power to move defenders. With his size, he can create a traffic jam in pass protection. In the running game, he moves people backward, opening huge holes for his running back.  Considering his size,  he moves pretty well. He can slide and keep up with pass rushers.

Where Banner needs to improve on is his mental game. He has lapses at times. He’s committed too many false starts. He also tends to depend on his massive size too much. At the higher level, the opponent is a gifted athlete, so he needs to use proper technique to protect his backfield.

Banner is a fun-loving guy who looks to keep everyone loose. “Always an entertainer,” said his stepfather, Ron Banner. “Always wanting to make people laugh and have fun.”

Don’t get it wrong, however. If you get on his bad side, he will not back down. After a loss earlier this season, LenDale White, a former Trojan and NFL running back, called Banner a “big ass teddy bear.” Bannon quickly retorted told White to “grow up, stay quiet and stay irrelevant.”

Banner has NFL genes. His biological father is 6-foot-6, 335 pounder Lincoln Kennedy, an 11-year NFL veteran.

If the Chicago Bears draft Banner, the right side of the offensive line would be fun to watch with him and Long. Hopefully, they can play as well on the field as entertaining they are off of it.