Chicago Bears: Peach Bowl NFL Draft prospects to watch

We examine a few prospects in the Peach Bowl who could be targets for the Chicago Bears.

Recently, we have been highlighting some players who the Chicago Bears might target in the 2020 NFL Draft, highlighting prospects from the various college bowl games. Now we start getting into some of the bigger bowl games with some of the best players in the NCAA.

Our first stop is Saturday at 4:00 p.m. eastern when the No. 1 seed LSU Tigers take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.

There are some dream prospects in this game, including one the Bears would love to have a crack at in Joe Burrow. Sadly, they have no chance to land any of those players as they don’t have a first-round pick.

But there are still plenty of talented players who are legitimate targets for the Bears.

Jalen Hurts, QB – Oklahoma

The Bears should be in the market for a quarterback this draft, though it’s unclear if they will be or how high of a pick they’ll use on one. They have two second-round picks that could be used or packaged to move into the first round. One player on the periphery of the first and second round is Jalen Hurts.

Some will point to his athleticism and moxy, having played in the College Football Playoff in each of his four seasons. However, his downfield accuracy, and suspect decision-making at times are too reminiscent of the Bears’ current quarterback situation. Nevertheless, he is one to watch.

Kenneth Murray, LB – Oklahoma

Linebacker Kenneth Murray is an interesting prospect. First, he’s projected to be a first-round pick, so he may not be available in the second round. Second, linebacker is not necessarily a position of need, even if they decide not to bring back Danny Trevathan, as Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis have filled in very nicely.

However, Murray is an incredible talent who plays with an unrelenting motor. He flies around the field and lays bone-cracking hits on opponents once he gets there. In many ways he is the quintessential modern-day linebacker, just like Roquan Smith. The possibility of those two patrolling the middle of the field might be too good to pass up if he’s available.

K’Lavon Chaisson, Edge – LSU

K’Lavon Chaisson plays a position of need for the Bears and could replace Leonard Floyd whose fifth-year option was picked up but is non-guaranteed except for injury. The problem, however, is that he may be too similar to Floyd for the Bears liking.

Like Floyd, Chaisson is pretty good in coverage, especially for his size. Unfortunately, also like Floyd, he has been bitten by the injury bug and does not pressure the quarterback to the degree you’d like out of your edge rusher.

Nevertheless, he is a very skilled and talented player who, if he develops more as a pass rusher, could be a solid replacement for Floyd.