Chicago Bears: Kevin Thurmon Jr. offers tremendous upside in NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft approaching, we sat down with a fast-rising prospect who should be on the Chicago Bears’ radar.

If the Chicago Bears are looking to add quality depth to their defensive line, then Kevin Thurmon Jr., from Arkansas State must be on their radar.

The powerful and explosive, yet surprisingly fast Thurmon stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 298 pounds, which is right around where he expects to be by the time of the NFL Draft.

Thurmon was a standout defensive lineman at Arkansas State where he started as a defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense. However, last year they switched mid-season to a 3-4 defense, at which time he lined up on the end. In other words, he has some scheme versatility to go along with his impressive game.

He also had two very productive seasons at Arkansas State, totaling 4.5 sacks last year, 7.5 tackles for a loss, and 54 total tackles despite missing two games due to a broken hand. On top of playing with a cast, his first game back was shortly after the team switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme. Therefore, he was adjusting to a new defense mid-season while trying to play with a cast on his hand and still put up that kind of production. Not an easy task to say the least.

This followed a 2018 season in which he racked up 31 total quarterback pressures, to go along with 63 tackles (12.0 for a loss) and 3.5 sacks.

The injury to Akiem Hicks showed why it’s so important to ensure you have quality depth on the defensive line, and that’s what makes Thurmon so appealing. He would be a fantastic addition to the Bears’ front.

We recently sat down with Kevin to talk about his production and the prospect of playing for his hometown Chicago Bears, among many other topics.