Chicago Bears Daily 2017 NFL Draft Prospect: Troy OT Antonio Garcia

The Chicago Bears need to find a player to develop for the left tackle position, that’s why Antonio Garcia could be a target for the front office.

The Chicago Bears need to reinforce their offensive line, the interior of it is set for 2017 with Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton, but the tackle position need some improvement. It’s hard to find a player in this draft that could be a day one plug and play, as this is one of the worst class for the position, but there are some players like Troy product Antonio Garcia.

Garcia is an interesting player, he could have been a four-year starter at the left tackle position for his team if not for his redshirt freshman season being cut in half by a knee injury. He has a good lateral quickness, brilliant athleticism and that helps him not get beaten by the edge pressure that lines up across the position.

Garcia has good size at 6-6 and 302 pounds, 33 3/8” arms and hand size of 9 7/8”. One thing that will get impress scouts when evaluating his tape is the ability to mirror the player he blocks before and after they are fighting at the line of scrimmage.

More from Da Windy City

• 3 takeaways from Chicago Blackhawks shootout loss to Nashville
• Chicago Cubs in the middle of chaos that is Shohei Ohtani’s free agency
• The Chicago Cubs are on a roller coaster of emotions chasing Shohei Ohtani
• Chicago Bears quietly compiling list of head coaching candidates
• Chicago White Sox News: Erick Fedde signs two-year deal

As a pro player, Garcia is raw coming out of college and will need time to develop with good coaching throughout the process, but he has all tools you look for to develop into a good starter. When ready, you can put him next to Long on the left side and the Bears would have great results both protecting the pass and opening up lanes for the run. It’s crazy to think Jordan Howard could get even better when a player like Garcia is ready to create holes for him.

A good thing about Garcia for the Bears is that he has a good shot to be available when the Bears select in the third round. Garcia being available in the third round allows general manager Ryan Pace to look to others positional needs in the first two rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft. That could work to Pace’s favor considering the talent that could be available to the Bears in the second round with prospects slipping from the first round. The Bears likely will not target the offensive tackle position in the first two rounds of the draft and that could signal Garcia being the best available guard when the team is ready to address the position.

Related Story: Chicago Bears select quarterback early in latest 2017 NFL Mock Draft

Check back on Tuesday as we continue our daily 2017 NFL Draft prospect series with Iowa defensive back Desmond King.