Chicago Bears: Wild card Kylie Fitts a diamond in the rough?

Did Bears get Harold Landry-lite?

Coming into the 2018 NFL Draft, most fans had their eyes on edge rushers looking to go on Days 1 and 2 of the draft.

And while the names of Tremaine Edmunds and Marcus Davenport were thrown around as possible Round 1 selections, Landry was a popular option because of his more mature approach as a pass-rusher and immense college production (16.5 sacks in 2016).

Though he didn’t necessarily project as an amazing athlete, Landry did display solid quickness at the NFL Combine, being one of just four participants to crack seven seconds in the three-cone drill.

One of the other three to do it was Fitts.

In fact, from an athletic standpoint, you’d have a hard time distinguishing between Landry and Fitts.

Of course, Combine measurements, as we all know, aren’t the end-all, be-all. You have to show it on the field.

That said, when Fitts has been on the field (more on that later), he’s shown that his athleticism translates. In particular, his junior season saw him produce 20 tackles, seven sacks and four forced fumbles. He also managed to bat down nine passes that year, showing off his versatility as an edge defender.

And, like Landry, he does it with quickness and a solid arsenal of pass-rush moves for a young player.

Whether it’s beating people off the edge with pure speed, using his hands to swipe away a blocker’s hands and slip inside or put a guy in the spin cycle, Fitts knows a lot of tricks for getting home to the quarterback.

For instance, Fitts has a far more diverse pass-rushing repertoire than Leonard Floyd did when he ended the league in 2016.

And though, he also needs to improve as an anchor against the run just as Floyd did, size is no issue for Fitts. He checks in at 6-foot-4, 263 pounds, which could help him stand his ground more effectively at the point of attack as a rookie.

That, and Fitts can also drop into coverage effectively, something he did as a hand-on-the-ground defensive end and a stand-up linebacker.

While a lot of scouts wanted to see more of Fitts against high-level opponents, there’s no doubt that he would’ve been one of the nation’s top pass rushers if he’d played full seasons in 2016 and 2017.

But alas, that’s not how things went down…