Chicago Bears: Three players Ryan Pace could reach for in 2018 NFL Draft
Courtland Sutton
Make no mistake about it: Calvin Ridley is clearly the most NFL-ready receiver in the 2018 NFL Draft both from experience and technical standpoints. No one needs to debate that too heavily at this point.
However, if we think about the guys Ryan Pace likes to draft, Ridley doesn’t quite fit the bill partly for that reason. What’s the last guy the Bears general manager picked that everyone thought was a finished product?
Pace loves to project on talent and potential, relying on coaches to get the most out of his players. That’s where Sutton, a monstrous receiver out of SMU, comes in.
In the eyes of most, Sutton isn’t a top 10 pick right now because he simply wasn’t dominant enough against the American Athletic Conference last year. That might make people raise their eyebrows given what he put up his last two seasons (1,246 yards, 12 touchdowns in 2016; 1,085 yards, 10 TDs in 2017). But given his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, insane athleticism and run-after-catch ability, the expectations were a bit higher for him.
We caught up with @SuttonCourtland last month and took a walk down his path from overlooked prospect, to @SMU_Football safety, to arguably the nation's top wide receiver.
— FloFootball (@FloFootball) January 18, 2018
Will he be ready to face elite competition after playing against relative cupcakes in college? He certainly has the size, athleticism and physicality to make it happen.
And with a young quarterback to grow with and an offense that would wield him as a matchup nightmare? That could be a match made in heaven for Sutton.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller remarked in December that Sutton has the best potential out of any player in this draft. Can’t you almost see Pace fanning himself in the corner thinking about Sutton turning into Julio Jones?
WHAT?!? @SMU_Football's Courtland Sutton with the INSANE one-hander... pic.twitter.com/BmibAzGuul
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 25, 2017
And if Pace gets it into his mind to take him, he’s not going to care what happened the last time he took a receiver in the first round. He’s just going to go do his thing.
It probably won’t be at #8 overall; even that might be too big a reach for Pace. But if quarterbacks are flying off the board and the Bears trade down, the radar will be going off.
Then again, who knows? A monster Combine/pro day performance could pique the Bears’ interest.