Chicago Bears: 5 small school prospects to consider in 2018 NFL Draft

If history tells us anything about Ryan Pace and his philosophy for the Chicago Bears come draft time, we need to pay attention to these guys.

The Chicago Bears boast a general manager who is not afraid to take risks. Ryan Pace is a guy who goes with his gut feeling, regardless of what others may say. Sometimes this can come back to bite him, but other times he looks very intelligent for chances he takes.

Last year, Pace took a few players out of smaller schools in the 2017 NFL Draft. Most notably, he selected running back Tarik Cohen in the fourth round out of North Carolina A&T. At the time, many fans had no idea who he was — that changed in a hurry.

Pace also selected tight end Adam Shaheen out of Ashland in the second round. This was the pick, out of all of them, that made most of us turn our heads — in confusion. Shaheen had the body and physical attributes, but not a lot of experience and didn’t play up against defenses resembling what he’d see as a pro.

In round five last year, Pace took offensive guard Jordan Morgan out of Kuztown University, making that a whopping three of the Bears’ five picks coming from small schools. Once again, Pace wasn’t afraid of any backlash or questioning.

In the upcoming draft, many of us know about all the big names who are likely to go in the first couple of rounds. However, fans need to start paying attention to some of the more unknown guys — well, not necessarily unknown, but the players not getting as much press.

Here are five players you could see Pace target at some point in this year’s draft, or as an undrafted free agent.