Chicago Bears: 10 viable draft prospects to watch at the combine

The Chicago Bears have much to add on offense, but it’ll be most exciting to watch the defensive guys at this year’s combine.

The Chicago Bears are doing everything right so far this year. They have hired the right head coach in Matt Nagy, followed by all of the appropriate guys to fill in staffing holes. Over the past week, they have begun the second step in the offseason by cutting ties with veterans who do not fit into the direction they are headed.

To date, the Bears have cleared roughly $62 million after announcing the release of a few names. Josh Sitton, Jerrell Freeman, Quintin Demps and Pernell McPhee have all been relieved of their duties in Chicago.

It is believed that in the coming days Mike Glennon will follow them all and put the Bears well into the $75 million range in available space. With free agency approaching, Ryan Pace and company are set to do some major damage.

It looks like Pace has his organization heading for success well into his fourth year on the job. The next course of action begins this week as he and his scouting department evaluate future NFL players at the 2018 combine.

The Bears have a few holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but sitting at the eighth pick overall, their options are endless. Several teams have been rumored to want to move up, with the Buffalo Bills having been one team specifically with a quarterback in mind. Could Pace trade down and acquire additional picks? That’s exactly what many are predicting, given his history.

Pace is a risk-taker come draft time, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him make some moves. For now, his staff will further look into many of the following players in this year’s draft class. Here are 10 viable options, in no particular order, for the Bears early on in the 2018 draft.

10. ILB Rashaan Evans, Alabama

If you want as close as you can get to a sure thing in the NFL, on the defensive side of the ball, look no further than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nick Saban continues to churn out pro player after pro player on both sides of the ball, but it’s specifically a good bet when you draft a player chasing after the football.

Rashaan Evans is going to have a long career in the NFL, that is all but set in stone. Evans is one of those inside backers who breaks down plays quicker than most. There have been lots of draft profiles written on linebackers for this year’s draft and many of them read “a bit slow to diagnose plays” under their weaknesses.

Not this guy.

Evans finally made the most of his chance in a starting role after sitting behind Reuben Foster among others for three seasons. In 2017, Evans scored second-team All-SEC. He led the Tide in tackles, but most impressively, he led that vaunted defense in tackles for loss while playing from the inside.

Like I said, he is smart. He reads offenses very well. He moves sideline to sideline with ease. He would definitely fit right in with Vic Fangio’s defense that makes a living on swarming to the football.

WR James Washington, Oklahoma State

Say hello to maybe my favorite wide receiver prospect in this year’s draft class. I’m sure you have heard things like “this wide receiver crop isn’t all that impressive,” and I’m here to tell you, it’s not.

Say what?

Honestly, they are correct. But, there are a few very good ones and James Washington is certainly one of them. To be fair, most analysts will say something like the above because there aren’t any guys who can come in and be a true number one option at the level of a Julio Jones or A.J. Green.

Washington, though, boasts a lot of things to like.

One of the biggest things I love about Washington when I look at how he would fit into the Bears’ offense is his ability to stretch the field. Washington averaged about 20 yards per catch over three seasons — three seasons!

He has a great quickness off the line of scrimmage and beats cornerbacks down field consistently. Washington would give the Bears that Tyreek Hill type of player who can break a game wide open with just one play.

Washington is projected to go somewhere between the late first round and early second round, with the latter being more likely. I would be completely thrilled if the Bears were able to grab him with the seventh pick in the second round.

WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama

It is unlikely the Bears will end up with Calvin Ridley at number eight overall. If Pace decided to pull the trigger on him that high, it would be foolish.

Plenty of mock drafts have given Ridley to the Bears at their current pick, and it’s simply the lazy way out. The Bears are arguably the most receiver-needy team in the league, but that doesn’t mean you give them the top overall graded wideout at number eight.

Ridley may be the top graded receiver, but if the Bears were to snag him, it would be later in the first round after trading back. Maybe a team like the Bills would be an ideal partner if the Bears think Ridley would last that long.

While he doesn’t have the biggest size overall, Ridley is very good off the line and an excellent route runner. A lot of people believe he would be the perfect compliment to a true number one option — thus the fact that it is widely believed he won’t pan out as a true primary threat.

Ridley is athletic and has the ability to beat double teams while going up for a jump ball. He has good but not elite speed. Ridley is a fantastic blocker and he has shown that he can be durable — that should come as music to the ears of Bears fans.

His combine will do a lot of influencing into where he goes in the first round. If he goes above and beyond expectations, maybe he does find himself in the top 12. However, if his performance doesn’t blow the scouts away, he is likely suited in the middle of the first round.

OLB Roquan Smith, Georgia

If you are more of a casual fan and watched any of the National Championship game earlier this year, you undoubtedly found yourself saying, “Wow, that kid from Georgia is good.” Of course, you would have been talking about linebacker Roquan Smith — the guy was everywhere that night.

Smith is an athletic freak of nature. For those who may not know, he played wideout in high school. His footwork and quickness are off the charts.

Something the Bears will be missing opposite of Leonard Floyd is a similar type of playmaker. They are in need of a quick, instinctive linebacker that covers space well. That is exactly the type of player we’re talking about with Smith.

In terms of covering ground in a hurry, Smith might just be as good as it gets in this class. The only real knock on him is his size.

Ring a bell?

The same was said about another former Georgia linebacker who now plays in the navy and orange. I think he’s going to turn out, and so will Smith.

Likely to go in round one, the question is where exactly he will fall. Some have him graded as high as top-10, while others have him going in the 20s. Regardless, if Pace has his heart set on Smith, I wouldn’t be upset with the pick in the least.

EDGE Arden Key, LSU

Having linebackers with the ability to shed blockers is a luxury for a coordinator like Fangio, and Arden Key is absolutely one of them. With his 6’6” 265lb frame, Key is able to break away from the opposition and get into a place where he can blow up a play in a hurry.

Key is a wildcard, to be quite honest. If you don’t know a lot about him, Key has had a history of variables threatening to derail his career. He left his team last spring for personal reasons. His weight has been a problem. He also has had shoulder surgery within the last year.

All of those could keep Key out of the first round, and that would be fine by me. The Bears may snag him if he falls to them at number 39 overall, and it might just be a risk worth taking.

As I said previously, one of Key’s biggest strengths is his ability to shed blockers. How does he do it? He is famous for how he uses his hands. Somehow, some way, his hands are always in control. He finds a way to keep his hands free. Never mind the running back giving way to the tackle, the key here is how great his hand work is — pun intended.

A knock on Key is how he may appear slower than he really is, simply because of his awkward movement. He doesn’t move his body like most linebackers should. It isn’t necessarily pretty to watch, but more often than not, it works.

Watch for Key to fall as other prospects rise, and maybe the Bears take their shot with him.

CB Denzel Ward, Ohio State

There is something to be said about the so-called “top cornerback” in every year’s draft. Over the last couple of years, that label has proven to not only be true, but to lead team’s to making one heck of a pick.

Look at the guy who came just a year before Denzel Ward — Marshon Lattimore. I think he’s done just fine for himself in the NFL, and that was as a rookie.

A true shutdown corner is the type of player you not only invest a high draft pick in with confidence, but lots of money. Just take a look at some of today’s top pros at the position, and you will understand why the importance to get someone like Ward cannot be overstated.

Over his last two seasons with the Buckeyes, Ward allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 32 percent of their passes when targeting him. That is absurd.

Not only do you rarely see a catch against the guy, but he has a knack for the ball as well. To put it in perspective, he tied Lattimore for the team lead in pass breakups two years ago with nine. Last season, Ward notched 15 passes defensed.

First priority before the draft is to not allow Kyle Fuller out of town. But secondly, if the Bears want to ensure they have themselves a lockdown threat in the secondary, Ward would be a fantastic choice if he was to be there at eighth overall.

WR Courtland Sutton, SMU

A lot of people hate me for loving this guy so much, and that’s fine. Maybe it is because I loved watching Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall so much, but I have a soft spot for the big-bodied receivers.

Courtland Sutton is a 6’4″, 215lb specimen that looks like a man among boys on the field. Sutton could care less if he gets hit — that might be a double-edged sword. Regardless, the point is that he is not afraid of contact. He will line up anywhere and run everywhere. His only goal is to catch the football and move past the defense.

If I’m Nagy, I like that about him. The guy just wants to score — period.

The knocks on Sutton are concerning. He does lack the separation needed at the pro level. He would rather overpower defensive backs than break away from them. Now, is that because he is just too comfortable in his ways or does he really lack that ability? That’s the real question, here.

Either way, Sutton has at least put himself on tape as a big, physical receiver who refuses to go down easy and makes catching the football his first priority. That’s a great start if you ask me.

The projection for Sutton has been consistently second round, with some even giving him a third-round grade. If I am Pace and he is still on the board when Chicago is on the clock in the second round, I would seriously consider working out a deal to trade back a few picks and snag him.

LB Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech

Get used to hearing this name a lot, Bears fans. If any of you reading this are on Twitter, you know how popular this name has become among Chicago’s fanbase. Tremaine Edmunds is the real deal.

How good is he? He is graded by many as one of the top three players in this year’s draft class, but because of the quarterback-needy teams picking ahead of the Bears, Pace and company are in play to potentially grab him at number eight.

Edmunds is lengthy and athletic. At 6’5″ and weighing 250lbs, Edmunds covers space incredibly well. He is not easily blocked and also rarely misses a tackle.

Here he is sporting one of his best traits, tackling the opposition for a loss. Edmunds had 14 such tackles in 2017.

In his last season with the Hokies, Edmunds recorded a whopping 109 tackles. Do you think he covers some ground out there? I’d say so.

The guy can also rush the passer, finishing 2017 with 5.5 sacks. Does he remind you of anyone in particular? I’ll give you a hint — he was just selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Yes, Brian Urlacher is a very solid pro comparison. Urlacher’s name is all over the place when people are referring to Edmunds. If you could guarantee me that kind of player, I’d be all over Edmunds at eight if I was Pace.

CB Josh Jackson, Iowa

I bet if you were to tell me at the beginning of the college football season last year that Josh Jackson would be some folks’ number one overall cornerback in this year’s draft, I would have questioned you a bit.

It’s funny how one season as a college football player can change everything.

All Jackson did last year with the Hawkeyes is make play after play, changing game after game in enormous ways.

Very rarely do you find a player like Jackson. He has such a nose for the football that it’s comical at times. Do you remember watching Ed Reed play football? If you do, you know what I mean by dubbing it “comical.”

Reed was one of those players who seemed to come up with the football every single game he played. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but my goodness did it feel that way.

https://twitter.com/FBForL/status/926990437843337216

Jackson boasts a 6’1″ frame with some of the longer arms you’ll see on a corner. He’s coming off a year where he posted a silly 27 passes defensed to go with eight interceptions.

By the way, he can in fact intercept a pass without using only one hand — I checked.

If Chicago wants a ball hawk, which I believe they do, Jackson is someone who is racing up draft boards at the moment and following the combine, and should be taken whenever a team feels right doing so.

G Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame

If someone could build a time machine and bring back Larry Allen as a rookie and place him on the Bears, that’s quite possibly what it would look like if Chicago drafted Quenton Nelson out of Notre Dame.

It sounds farfetched, but Nelson is just that good. Typically it’s a bit of a shot to the Hall of Famer, but in this case Allen is a great comparison to use when speaking of Nelson.

Nelson is flat out strong. He rarely gets overpowered by anyone in front of him. At 6’5″, 329lbs, Nelson can quite literally create space for his running back by himself. When you watch the kind of leverage he gets, it will blow you away.

As a believer in Mitch Trubisky, I firmly believe that an excellent offensive line will be his best friend. While a great tight end or run game might creep close in that conversation, nothing can beat time in the pocket if you’re a young quarterback trying to take the next step in your development.

Go ahead and search for tape of Nelson. It all looks the same. I kid you not. The play begins and Nelson wins. The end.

Pace is all about finding “his guys” in the draft, regardless of position. I can’t help but wonder if Nelson somehow falls to him at eight if he doesn’t snatch him up quickly. For one, I would be ecstatic. Nelson is my clear-cut pick at number eight if he falls — no questions asked.

Next: Top 10 WR Targets