Chicago Bears target Will Hernandez showing out at NFL Combine
UTEP guard Will Hernandez, a possible second-round draft target for the Chicago Bears, is turning heads at the NFL Combine workouts and drills.
Coming into today, most of the buzz about the offensive line prospects at the NFL Combine revolved around Quenton Nelson (and his purported interest in playing for the Chicago Bears). Also, a lot of people have been disappointed with the showing of massive tackle Orlando Brown thus far.
But UTEP guard WIll Hernandez, a potential Day 2 offensive line target for the Chicago Bears has been killing it in the weight room and on the field. And by the looks of it, he might be about to make himself some money.
He started off yesterday by setting the Combine standard this year in bench press with 37 reps at 225 pounds. For perspective, Nelson, the only potential top-five pick among linemen, had 35. Brown had a measly 14.
To an extent, everyone expected that. Hernandez is known for being a bit of a workout warrior.
But what people probably didn’t expect to see was the way that Hernandez moved in drills. And that could ultimately move him up some draft boards.
He busted out two 40-yard dash times under 5.20 seconds at 327 pounds, with his fastest being 5.14 seconds.
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And his 1.76 10-yard split is tied for the fastest yet among OL prospects.
Also, his lateral movement and agility have impressed people, as well as his ability to get out and run in pull drills.
In short, Hernandez is dominating the NFL Combine right now. And anyone who wants offensive line help without having to draft Nelson early will be honed in on him.
You can bet that the Chicago Bears are among those teams.
Of course, at this point, Will Hernandez could well be performing his way into the first round. His game tape probably already had him knocking on that door, and his Combine is just propelling him.
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This man has a great chance to start from Day 1 on any team that drafts him, Bears included. As such, he could be off the board by the time the Bears pick in the second round.
If not, though, the Chicago Bears will have a hard time passing this guy up.