Chicago Bears need to pay attention to EDGE Josh Sweat

Edge rusher Josh Sweat just blew the doors off the NFL Combine. And in doing so, he likely put himself firmly on the Chicago Bears’ radar in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Among all the needs the Chicago Bears have in the 2018 NFL Draft, edge rusher remains arguably at the top of the list. And if they don’t go with an edge guy with their first pick, Josh Sweat may have just made himself available at the top of the second round with a monster performance at the NFL Combine.

With all eyes on the likes of Bradley Chubb and Marcus Davenport, who ran a very strong 4.58 40-yard dash, Sweat just turned up the heat.

First off, he checked in with some of the most ideal outside linebacker measurements you can possibly find.

Like, I’m not sure Ryan Pace could invent a more ideal edge rusher prototype in a lab.

And then, he got on the track and turned Twitter on its head.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/970334057492918272

Not only did he run the fastest time of the day for defensive linemen with that 4.57 run, he bettered it in his second run with a time of 4.53.

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For perspective, he is nearly 10 pounds heavier than Leonard Floyd was when he weighed in at the 2016 NFL Combine, has a longer wingspan and is faster by a good portion.

Due to concerns about the health of his knee, he likely will stay on the board until the Bears pick on Day 2. As such, they’ll check his medicals diligently, having just offloaded a guy with knee issues in Pernell McPhee.

The Bears need a guy who can play significant snaps opposite Floyd, not another player who will leave him operating on his own.

That said, perhaps we can look at what he did today as slight encouragement that his knee is alright. And hopefully, it stays alright when the pads come on.

Next: JJ Watt teasing Chicago with tweet?

Again, just one look at Sweat should tell you just how much of a Ryan Pace prototype this kid is. He’s long, athletic, fast and carries tremendous upside as a pass rusher. And I don’t doubt that Vic Fangio would be happy to coach him up on some of his raw points and help him develop more versatility as a pass rusher.

I liked Sweat from the first time I watched his film about a year ago, seeing his potential for disruption (12.5 sacks last two seasons). And I would hope the Chicago Bears have him on their radar in the second round.