Chicago Bears: Joel Iyiegbuniwe future starter at ILB?

Player Profile

Strengths

When you look at Iyiegbuniwe’s measurables (6-foot-1, 230 pounds), you can see the makings of a Vic Fangio middle linebacker.

Truthfully, he looks bigger than that on the field; he sports a well-knit, slightly more muscular frame than what you see on Smith.

Due to his more hybrid size, Western Kentucky used him both inside and outside in their defense. He certainly has the speed and athletic ability to play outside, but he doesn’t have ideal size or length. As such, it could be tough for him to disengage from blockers and set the edge against bigger linemen.

When they put him at inside linebacker, though, you can see the possibilities start to open up.

Operating in the middle of the field, he has the range to track down from sideline to sideline with some burst. And when he arrives at the ball, he strikes hard and brings his arms with him to tackle.

And he can hold his own when you drop him in the middle of the field in coverage as well. Here, he manages to slip a screen block on 3rd-and-long to force a field goal.

His instincts in coverage specifically might help him climb up the depth chart a bit and get him on the field in a backup role as a rookie. In that aspect, he comes into the NFL with more natural ability than Nick Kwiatkoski did.

And if you run into a team that sprinkles in the read-option, Iyiegbuniwe has shown that he can play effectively against that and contain some athletic running quarterbacks.

Here, he tracks down Alabama’s Jalen Hurts.

Speaking of tracking people down…is that Calvin Ridley he just hunted 20 yards down the field on this jet sweep? Why, yes it is.

Some of Iyiegbuniwe’s lower draft grade may have been due to his playing out of position on the outside due to his versatility. Given his athletic traits and productivity in his last two seasons (22.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks), it seems like he has a good deal of unexplored upside.