Chicago Bears: 2019 NFL Draft Prospect Big Board
By Ryan Heckman
16. Running Back Bryce Love, Stanford
Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 200 pounds
Bench Press: 18 reps
Forget the Bryce Love you saw in 2018. It was a down year in every aspect. Love only rushed for 739 yards on 166 carries with six touchdowns. This was a year after rushing for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2017 as he finished as one of the top Heisman Trophy candidates.
Last year, according to a pro scout, Love was injured early on in the season but continued to play through it. Finally, he ended up suffering a torn ACL in Stanford’s last game of the season. For this reason, you can completely throw his 2018 season out the window.
The fact of the matter is, Love is as explosive of a player as they come. Because of his injury and underwhelming season last year, his stock has dropped considerably. But, if the Bears took a chance on him in the middle rounds, he could end up panning out as one of the smartest gambles of Ryan Pace’s career.
Love would be a thrilling compliment to Tarik Cohen once he’s back to full health. You can’t completely discount what he did in 2017 just due to his 2018 disaster. I’m looking at what kind of player a healthy Love is, and that’s an exciting back who can hit the home run at any given moment.